The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1861-07-06
IHK 8LCNDER AT DgG RE1HELA
saAIhlNG kAPOoCkE OF MiLlrAkT
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| s.AInING EAPOsUkE OF M,LiT.. :
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Nr. tialssed, one Of tbs editors OF the
CINCINNATI Commercial. who il writing war
letters from Washington, thss speak. OF
the part played BY our military az the at
tack ON Big Bethel. Is 10 very severe. and
no doubt justly %. He uruss under The
date OF the I7lh:
The expedition which ended ia the blooav
repulss NJ Big Bethel, has shed beam Il
light straight through the ros,enuess of our
military organisation. The expedition was.
from the beginning. an unbrox eu series Of
heart cken,og biuDders, and believe !, to
be the very best policy to expose them to
the FULLEST extent. Let the people see what
has been done BY the managers Of military
AFFAIRS With the immense offerings that hav .
been made IN spirit Of generous loyalty,
to secure the safety and maintain the honor
OF the Republic.
part OF the expedition to Big Bethel
vas sent in boats up Hampton Greek. The
boats we're an hour snd half behind the
time appointed. in leaving. As they enter
ed the creek, having been informed that the
| senslneis were warned Of their approach,
they were proceeding in perfect silence
hasing mufaed their osrs) when the first
sentinel on the shore sung out at the top Of
bis voice. Who goes thsre2"
An of6cer in the foremost boat stood up
and said in low tome The expedition
the expedition don't make so much noise.''
"I'll give you an expedition" said the sen.
tinel. bringing down his rifle, and firing,
missing by few inches, shooting the officer
through the head. And the sentinel did bn.
do his duty, as he had not been warned that
the boats would pass. The officer supposed
that the boats would have to be stopped, or
run the gauntlet Of the sentines all the wav
up the creek. lie determined to take thu
latter course, and called out. Givev,r
men, give way let them shoot and 10
damned. The awkward snas ~ h;,ohas
can't hlt anybody anyhow" just "a The
boats ian hour and n half behind ,;ms1
came up to tbs seeo:i sentinel. III. ofs,er
whose uoty Vas to see that the sentinels
'"'eFs'o'd ne matter, came along and pre-.
vented further firing. The next blundar
vas Two Of the regiments firing into each
osner, which was the work Of n parcel of
idiots. AT the time Of this firing the New
York Regiment of Zouaves was three miles
and half in front, and had already taken
little Bethel. They heard the firing 10 their
rear, and, snpposIng an attack was made in
force upon the regiments coming up retra ced
their steps. running all the way. They then
marched over the same ground on the ad-
vance.
When the troops went into action Mt Big
Bethel they had been on the march twelve
hour. without food, and the supply Of water
IN their canteens was exhausted. The dav
was becoming hot. and they were dispirited
by the blundrrs Of the night, aud fainting
with hunger and fatigue.
The action WAS n complication of dsas.
trous foolery, utterly without excuse or
example. The men wanted to know Of the
captains what TO do; the captains wanted
their colonels to tell them what to do and
the colonies asked Gen. Pierce what had
better be done. and he said. swell, indeed
] don't know" There were the men pre-
pared, ready, eager. competent to take the
battery. BIT the officers did not know no "
To direct the men. If there had been no
officers in the field, the battery would have
been taken. The me- would have done it
in five minutes, il they had just been turned
loose. But they proposed to obey orders,
and there were no orders. At last two or
three companies did outfank the battery,
hv sors of independent movement, and the
VirgInians were running away from it. when
one Of our brilliant officers seeing the Fed
| eral Baynne,s bristling through the bushes,
supposed it was reinforcement of Virgin
ians, and ordered a retreat, and the men
moved OF crying and swearing with shame
and fury.
Now it ia important to inquire how many
bloody repulses must be suffered in order TO
drill n ola into tho head pf the Admins.
,ra,ion. National and State, and into the
soldiers themselves. through which common
sense, as to the appointment or election of
officers. can be injected. And the jackass
officers nigh. we'll begin to inquire how long
il will be before their men will end it nec-
es.arv to shoot them.