[Footnote: Official Records, vol.
xxx. pt. iii. p. 890.] Meigs was himself a distinguished officer of
the Engineer Corps as well as quartermaster-general, and the weight
of his opinion at once restored confidence in Washington. He saw at
a glance that the only perilous contingency was the danger of
starvation, for the wagon roads over the mountains on the north side
of the Tennessee were most difficult at best, and soon likely to
become impassable. The army was safe from the enemy till it chose to
resume the offensive, provided it could be fed. He concluded his
dispatch by saying, "Of the rugged nature of this region I had no
conception when I left Washington. I never travelled on such roads
before." [Footnote: Official Records, vol. xxx. pt. iii. p. 890.] It
was only too evident that Halleck shared this ignorance, and had
added to it a neglect to estimate the distances over these mountains
and through these valleys, and the relations of the points, he
directed Burnside to hold, with the immediate theatre of Rosecrans's
operations.
On the same date as Meigs's report, Burnside was also sending a full
statement of his situation and an explanation of his conduct.
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