Southern Historical Society Papers, Volume 8.
Reverend J. William Jones, Ed.

[378] especially in those relating to the appointment of General Hood to the command of the Army of Tennessee. By these it is shown that General Hardee was not passed over from any want of appreciation, but because he had previously declined the position of Commander-in-Chief of that army for reasons which were still in force. His modesty put a lower estimate upon his ability than I did.

Upon reaching the army, after the battles around Atlanta, I learned from General Hardee that he still wished to be transferred to some other field of duty. The unfortunate relations which had grown up between General Hood and himself, and the expressed desire of both for a separation, overcame my reluctance to remove General Hardee from the troops he had commanded so long, and whose confidence he was known so fully to possess.

The assignment of General Hardee to an independent and important command, which was simultaneous with his being relieved from duty with the Army of Tennessee, sufficiently evinces that my confidence in him had not been impaired; and his conduct in that separate command fully justified the opinion I continued to entertain.

In this connection, it may be appropriate to furnish you with an extract from a letter written by me to General Beauregard on the 4th February, 1865--a period late in the course of the campaign through Eastern Georgia and South Carolina, and long after the events to which you refer: “You will assume command of all the forces in the district as defined before your departure to the west; and should you deem it advisable, will direct General Hardee to assume the command of his old corps when it arrives, and add to it any other forces which may be advantageously associated with it.” Thus it appears that in the hour of our direst need, I not only turned to General Hardee as a soldier and a patriot, but expected of him, at the head of his old corps, to exhibit the steady courage our necessities required, and that the veteran corps under his command would emulate the deeds which had won for him the honorable soubriquet of “old reliable.” With deep regret for the necessity that has occasioned it, I have endeavored to answer your enquiries so as to put finally at rest the supposition which any may entertain that General Hardee, at any period of his life, had lost either my confidence or esteem.

Respectfully and truly yours,

Jefferson Davis.