Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1853-1862, 1861-11-06
gasbbiIl. SIaisn SnS 5n,rifan
severe Criticism ON the Hattie oT LeesbuTg
The HOrsR. IsecOmI1E sick of It's News

severe CRITICISM ON the Hattie OK LeesbuTg
the HOFshs 13ecOmInE Sick of its News
paper ssvictorles.'s
The North is growing sick of Mr. LINCOLN $ super
viAorship Of the press that atudiOusy cOnceals the
truth from the public and magnihes every event OF
the war intea victory. The people are beginning
to see through this base deception practiced upon
them, and the New York Evening Post makes the
Lessburp battle the occasion of unwilling this mill
tary censorship, and of letting the cat out OF the
bag in the following beautiful manner. The crit
ic;sm Is As severe as it is welltimed and tells Ar.
Tro6tS plainly that the truth is the best policy
and that " no Government was ever known to profit
in the long run by the faiseheOd" The Ers'iHg
Pest says:
We have never known any man, Government, OF
nation, to profit In the long run BY faisehood. a
temporary advantage may sometimes De gained oy
artfully shaping the reports OF an important occur
rence according TO our Wishes but no real and per
mnaent good Goyernrents, it Is tr 4e ootn N oiplo
macy and war, are often under the necessity OF
Keeping proceedings secret for ume lest peTna
ture disclosure of them should prepare the enemy
to counterfeit them, or otherwise interfere with
their proper execution. In the case of the naval
expedition for instance, which we all know to have
been fitted out at several Norther ports tor hosle
II
and proper tina. he amount Of the force and Its des
tination should notsbe revealed. No one censures,
therefore but rather applauds the reticence of the
authorities in regard to the nature, objects and
means of this enterprise.
But to hide your purposes until such time as 1t
shall be judicious TO make them known, Is differ
ent thing from wilful misrepresentation OF them
The one is an act Of prudence, but the other
crime. When Napoleon Bonaparte kept to himself
his plans of campaigns or the details Of his intended
movements, he was perfectly Ju-ufa0le, not only
by the laws Of war. but by moral law, but when he
caused bulletins to be published claiming successes
that he never won, for sake OF their effect on the
opinions of Paris, he simply lied, In the former
case he did what all skillful Generals accustOm-
ed and in fact compelled to do; but in the latter
case he disgraced himself by deceit which may
have procured him transient success but must in
the end have destroyed confidence in his word. For,
when deception is once exposed, we forever after
wsrds distrust the author of it, so that he Is not
believed when it is highly important that he should
be believed.
We are led to the statement of the obvious princi
pies because fear lest the agents of oon Coz
ReT7unerd aOhjch haze assumed something of super
UisorShip of The press should fall into the bad practices
of ute deSpOtic GOUernmeNts of Europe. Take the
late battle Of LeesbUrg for example 1t given
oat, at first, as q slight StrmiSh IN which we had
suffered q briefrepulse whi>h was after wards re-
trieved by gaining very decided advantage of po
sitiOn. Col Baker, however, one of our most gal
CANT officers, was admitted to be killed, and the
rebels not said TO have retired yet the details of
the engagement aoere unpublished Our special cores
pondent at Washington teegrsphed US that he o1s not
dOIced to send the particulars which were received for
the Associated Press Agent When the dispatch of the
latter came were merely informed that the encoun
ter had been serious" that our right wing was
repnlsed with considerable lossn but that General
Stone held the position, would soon be reinforced
by Banks, and that Leesburg was certainly ours.
This was cheering IN spite OF the sacrifices by
which the position was won
THIS morning have another story the
journals are filed, not only with the reports of the
Associated Press, supervised by the Government,
but with multitude of special reports. What do
they concur 10 showing Why that this boosted
battle at Edwards Ferry was only repetition on
larger scale of the battle of Great Bethel In
other words there has been another stupendous
blunder We have always been taught that the
last trap in which experienced military man
would allow himself to be caught was an impassa,
Bile river In his rear, and superior enemy in front.
Any intelligent tyro who has read the history of
campaign, would know better than that, and yet it
was precisely such an error which our officers on
the Upper Potomac have committed. "One thou
sand missing" is the heart rending result, made
more sensible and discouraging by the loss of one
of the best and bravest souls IN the army. Our
actual loss in men it likely will prove much less
but eur actual loss in character o be much greater
than is represented by the numerical report.
Some tine since, when fears were entertained
that the rebels would cross the Potomac at point
where it was left weakly guarded, they were quick
ly dispelled by the somewhat indignant reply that
General Mcclellan desired nothing so much and that
he arranged his plans especially with view to such
an Imprudent step. Now, his own officers have
committed that blunder in a more aggravated form,
because the river was then forbade, while it is
now fifteen feet deep. If the rebel General had
written q request to our officers in the following
shape, how would it have baen answered?
"Io the Federal Commanders:
THE Potomac at EIWards Ferry is now fifteen
feet deep. VIII you be obliging as to send over
three or four thousand Of your best troops, with
one smooth bore gun, so to put the river your
rear EvANsD
"P. S.-We know that although you have forests
growing all around GU, you have not constructed
any boats or RATS, and that you have no meass oil
transportation but two or three mud scows. We
will not, however, interfere with your passage IN
I'll it il entirely effected. E."
Our officers might have seen through such dis
guise, and perhaps taken the hint to provide rats
that would bear the weight of a cannon, and suffice
TO convey either way more than fifty men in ar
hour. But, not having a special monitor, they lid
not foresee the result, and rushed blindfold into
calamity.
Having met defeat, it was the duty of the Gov
ernment TO acknowledge it in all its tuness. Panic
rumors it was bound to suppress, but the truth We
have right to know. All officers, whether civil
or military the servants of the people and the
i people require complete knowledge of their do
ings in order to judge how they have discharged
their trusts. The people are the masters of theil
own affairs and dem and the facts. If these dis
astrOus, it is an insult to them assume that they
strong enough to look their actual condition
in the face. They have made up their minds to &c
through with this war, cost what 1t may, and NJ
events adverse or propitious, Will change their de-
Termination.
As it is in the way the reports of this affair have
been managed, the public disposed to magnify
thn needs c0nCpAlmpnt. 81
must be bad They refuse to consider even the
cidental or prospective advantages may bav,
gained, because the authorities have set them tn
example of distrust and fear.
Ts the Ladies of KeBInckJ and Northern
Tennessee,
have established at Bowling Green, KY, Gen
eral Hospital for the reception of the sick soldier
of the Central Division Confederate States Army
of Kentucky. In an enterprise which is so init