CHAPTER XXV.
THE PERILOUS TRIP UP THE BIG SANDY.
I have followed Col.

Garfield through the Kentucky campaign, not because it compared in importance with many other military operations of the war, but because in its conduct he displayed in a remarkable degree some of the traits by which he was distinguished.

From a military point of view it may be criticised.

His attack upon an enemy far his superior in numbers, and in a more favorable position, would scarcely have been undertaken by an officer of more military experience.

Yet, once undertaken, it was carried through with remarkable dash and brilliancy, and the strategy displayed was of a high order.
I must find room for the address issued to his little army on the day succeeding the battle, for it tells, in brief, the story of the campaign: "SOLDIERS OF THE EIGHTEENTH BRIGADE: I am proud of you all! In four weeks you have marched, some eighty and some a hundred miles, over almost impassable roads.