Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1847-06-18

simeni in position by directing him 10 rest his
T,sM on The risA ofhc path, attending hS left
squares oG 10 lie tc SO as 10 form his ilnc OF 6ac
parallel Nth The centre feld-nmk OF Tie encmp."-
He then says that "by this marGayrc il will be
perceived that The ranks OF Col. Easl;elns COM
mand were ,ercrscd, the front rank becoming the
rear, and the rtght of The regiment its icf" Now,
how il is possible for regiment which is march
ing by The flank 10 reverse lis ranks and change
its wings from right TO left, By this order it will
be difficult for any military man 10 comprehend.
II The rgl Of the regiment was upon the right Of
the path and The leit extended squares of 10 The
icfi, as he says was ordered BY ME, il was as I'M
possible for The rines 10 have been rercrcd IN that
0Jdcf as il wculd be for man 10 ycrc,se The posi-
Noa ofkis o'ra arms-a equally so Tor the ranks
10 have been reversed for they coud net possibly
be reversed except by The whole regiment being
ordered 10 face by the rear ranks which would
have turned the backs Of lie men 10 the enemy !;
and ye! Col. Haskell comes 10 the conclusion that
By this order hi, icagS and his ranks were rcrc7cd
| cannot account lor such inexplicabe confusion
oil mind in a military man. To suppose him 50
ignorant OF lie PRINCIPLES OF military science
would show him utterly unfit for Tie command Of
4 regiment; and yet We ale forced 10 tbs conciu.
sion, or 10 The belief that he was so much 1TctRrb-
cd Lv a,srrous se7is,Iiita that lie did Lol know his
right wing from the lett, nor his rear rank from
his jroat | defy himself or any Of his friends 10
exiricale him from this dilemma. Il would &c en-
tirely irnmaterial By which flank lie lnarched-the
order which lie says did give would if cxecu-
led, place the regiment in proper position Tor the
assault upon The enemy's works.
First, then, Col Haskell mss;acs the number
Of works in The cncmys line, and their positions.
Seconl!y-he mi.slaies the work which in TACT |
intended either himself or Wynkoop 10 assail,
and the work which was actually assailed.-
Thirdiy-ihe order OF march, which he regards as
4 hlunder Of mine, was paper, and ne only one
~by which The aSsaultin1 parties could possibly
reach their POSITIONS and The regiments were
each placed iii the march with this express object.
Fou.ihly- my orde. for The formation OF his COM
mand into lire Of battle, which he says 7crsfstd
the wings and the ranks oi his regiment, was
1igit and propey; ard aereeaby 10 that order,
there was no possibility OF his wings and his ranks
being reversci-and yet The public are told, in the
very outset Of this article, that the publication is
To be "a simple statement vi facts, (which Is
By no means complimentary 10 lie generals Ia
LENS as military man." Is ny military rePu-
lalion 10 be Affected before an intelligent nation
by such an assault; a. this2 In The rery effort 10
assai me he exposes degree OF imJcclEty and
ignorance as Il military man, which exciles IN
my bosom nothing but sense OF iRy and con-
tempt.
Again, he says proiesscd to have earefTly
reconnoiiered these works, "but The truth is, lie
general was ignorant OF The ground ard oil The en-
cmy's strength and preparations Of defence"
did profess 10 have )i;elcd these WORKS
and ground, as carefully as, from The nature Of
the ground and other obstacles, could; hu de-
ny that either The engineers OF myself lid or could
carefully reconnoilre them. OF ever said We had =
Gel. Johnson, engineer, while engaged in re-
connoisancc Of these works, was shot through
the bo!y twice. Lier!. Tower, engineer, and
myself devoted three other days 10 Tie ex-
animation Of these wofks-welc repeatedly shot
al, and once holly pursued ard narrowly rscGiaG
q capture. On this la, occasion Col. Haskell
was along himself. Lieut. Tower and myself
had as CAREFUL; reconnoileicd these wo. Ks as il
was POSSIBLE 10 under the constant fire 10 which
we were exposed iiom The cEemy's pickles
rro.essed 10 have examined them as carefully as
could, bu We did mol know. and could nnt by
any possibility have known the character ci tic
works which We attacked, for they were com.
p.c.cly masked ~ the store wall aad brush. In
he Strength Of this oril We were ali deceived.
Il was noi ms duty professionally 10 examine u
10 kno" these w"Tss-i:al ne.ogst e:.in,,S
- n ,s0r Corps hal loon 49,. :. VI nsIson
al acQuainiance with the ground, which Gould
only BE acquired by personal reconnaissance.
Col Haskell was invited - be presen; at these
"Reminiscences, AMI was along moIc Than once.
anil IVES as much deceived a any one else
Who does not know that il is impossible to look
through stone walls, covered over with brush!-
What means have either engineers Of ohcr CT
Gcers oil discovering works completely masked,
when the approach OF The vicinity oil those works
is guarded by The enemy's pckets who fire upon
them every time they come within sigh, Ct any
portion OF their line Of works 7 The stone breast
work was extended from battery No. 10 battery
No. :. 4 distance OF abuu, 500 yards-this work
was al all points partially concealed with brush
ard there was nothing al the point assaulted which
indicated concealed or MASKED works al that
place more than any other portion Of ihc line. No
matter wha, portion Of the line was approached,
The enemys pcke,s fired upon the accommodating
parties Under these circumstances il was i'm
possible for The most skilul engineers, by acts
The most daring 10 make any better reconDois-
sancc than was here made during four days ar
duous and rerilous duty, exposed L. the constant
fire o.: The enemys pickles.
knew The works were reru strong, and 50 re-
rorlcd 10 the geEcral-in.chiei, and ina, il would
COS. large potion OF my command TO carry
them. His reply was-"The enemy is there in
strong position and force and he must he rh'2pcG,
ard direct you TO assault him IN fT0nl believing
YOU will 10 your duty" Ii we had known The
bly, have soush, some other place 10 have assalied
him; but il is not probable we would have larsd
much better.
twill be seen that | treat this publication as
coming alone from Colonel Haskell. 90 50,
first. because having met The communication aLd
Colonel Haskell both al Memphis instantly
charged lis authorship upon HasHell; and ne ac-
knowledsed that he wrote il. The ether officers
who have signed H. am fully persuaded did so
without reflection, and under The impression mat
had not in my official report, done them justice.
This impression on their part il will be seen IRON
my two official reports, was entirely eTroGeous.
These reports not only truly and July sci ioIln
The Strength Of the enemy's works and position,
bul they speak q the conduct and bearing ol lnls
regiment, and officers, in terms OF high common
dalion. That this erroneous impression upon The
minds of the officers was produced By Colonel
Easkelps representations | have no DOUBT; FIRST,
because. acknowledging The authorship Of The ar.
,icle. he must have, o! course, originated II. BE-
condy his excuses and iEdllgcnces while al Ca.
MARCO. causing neglect Of his regiment inpel-
led ne 10 notice his conduct in such way as 10
nroduce on his PAT, personal ii!-wi.i towards
myself, which has ever SINCE ranked III MS
bosom: and | kaow him 10 be my personal anu
polilical enemy. Thirdly, that Haskei has, by
renrf sensations TO these officers, induced them 10
believe mai L LID. utit til.u "hS s""A
their regulate and that OF the regiment was iden-
tied with his, and was suffering in he public es-
lima,jon is manifest rem their complaint thar
Injustice has been doEe them. VIXEN, in fact, il
viii be seen that my official reports (Which had
not then beer published, or, q! least, had not
been seen b. them, do them full ana ample JUS
lice, both as to their gaanlry and The strength o.
the WORKS assalled.
In these impressions am fully confirmed, from
the fac, that Col Haskell, as am informed from
the mos, reliable sources, presented this paper TO
Capt. Williams, who commanded The indeFen-
dent Kentucky company, for his signature, who
Indignantly refused 10 sign il. Lie also present.
ed i! 10 Lieut., Anderson, OF his regiment, who
had the manlness and hrmness 10 pronounce The
article fc,se and refused 10 sign it. 1t will also
be seen that Maj. Farquarson, who was upon
duty with that regimen, in thai baule, and Capt,
MAYOR, Of the d Pennsylvania Regiment, and
his officers, whose position was on this day PIT
iec,ly identified with the conduct and character
Of Old, The regiment, but who we're independent Of
Hasseli's influence, have mol signed ii. Iheie
may be, and probably are, other officers Of Inc "a
nv -, p.o;,rrni WIN have not signed II, bul