The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975 Page: 43
562 p. : ill. (some col.), maps, ports. ; 23 cm.View a full description of this periodical.
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Hamilton P. Bee in the Red River Campaign of x864
attacking force. He was greatly impressed with the immensity and the pano-
ply of the Union army. Therefore, he massed his strength in the center,
assuming the attack would come there because the river was supposed to
be unfordable and the enemy had massed his forces opposite that point. It
was not established whom Lane on the extreme right was fighting; it may
have been some wandering Union cavalry looking for a ford. But, as at
Brownsville, Bee, influenced by numbers and earlier reports, believed the
first information he received. He should have checked on the distance to
Beasley's, but he could not have been expected to know the country as Tay-
lor did, and why he did not send back for help is a mystery to which he did
not offer a solution. It is to his credit that he did not try to put some of the
criticism on Major, who, Bee said in his first report, was the one who
ordered Terrell's brigade to Beasley's.
Bee wrote Kirby Smith in August to request a court of inquiry to investi-
gate the facts surrounding Monett's Ferry. He did not like reports in circu-
lation "prejudicial to his character as an officer" and wanted vindication.
Kirby Smith told him that a court was unnecessary because he agreed with
Bee that a longer defense would have led to loss of artillery and perhaps the
command. From other friends, Wharton, Bagby, and Major, came assur-
ance that they were willing to make a statement for publication that Bee
had remained in position much longer than they would have.65 This ap-
proval of his judgment by superiors did not come immediately, however,
and even when it was given, "talk" continued. He did not obtain the court
of inquiry.
After he was relieved Bee went back to Texas and spent most of his time
in Seguin, probably with his family. He found himself a target for criticism
after reports of Monett's Ferry were published in the newspapers. One cor-
respondent who had been with his forces had talked to a Yankee major
captured a few days later and reported that the enemy felt they would have
been crushed between Wharton and Bee within four hours if Bee had not
given way.66 Bee quite naturally became very tender on the subject. He
was quick to take offense and slow to forget those who criticized him. Even
as late as April, 1865, he still felt the hurt and humiliation. He was willing
to endorse Captain William G. Moseley's conduct at Monett's Ferry, he
said, in spite of the fact that Moseley had harshly judged Bee's actions there.
Bee told Moseley of his disappointment in the captain, whom he had con-
65Weems to Bee, November 18, 1864, O.R.A., XXXIV, pt. I, pp. 614-615; Wharton
to Bee, ibid., 615.
66Houston Daily Telegraph, May g, I864.
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Texas State Historical Association. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 78, July 1974 - April, 1975, periodical, 1974/1975; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117149/m1/61/: accessed April 26, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.