He described Warner, Pennington, and the sergeant,
and said that he had the best comrades in the world. He told, too,
of his gallant and high-minded commander, Colonel Arthur Winchester.
He was sure that the letter would reach her promptly, as it passed all
the way through territory now controlled by the North. The next day
after sending it he heard with joy that Grant was restored to his
command, and two days later Colonel Winchester and his men were ordered
to join him at Pittsburg Landing, on the Tennessee River. They heard
also that Buell, with his whole division, was soon to march to the same
place, and they saw in it an omen of speedy and concentrated action.
"I imagine," said Warner, "that we'll soon go down in Mississippi
hunting Johnston. We must outnumber the Johnny Rebs at least two to
one. I'm not a general, though any one can see that I ought to be,
and if we were to follow Johnston's army and crush it the war would
soon be ended in the west."
"You've got a mighty big 'if'," said Dick. "If we march into
Mississippi we get pretty far from our base. We'll have to send a long
distance through hostile country for fresh supplies and fresh troops,
while the Southerners will be nearer to their own. Besides, it's not
so certain that we can destroy Johnston when we find him."
"Your talk sounds logical, and that being the case, I'll leave our
future movements to General Grant. Anyway, it's a good thing not to
have so much responsibility on your shoulders.
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