Lamoille newsdealer. [volume] (Hyde Park, Vt.) 1860-1877, 1861-08-02
THE PANIC OF THE ARMY.

lhE VI AHhS A"AA'
All accounts concur in representing the
panic which seized upon our army at Ma
nassas as having been absolutely cause
less, or without any rational cause. 1t is
evident that up to the very moment Of
retreat the advantage had been with our
troops. We had driven the enemy from
point to point We had taken battery
after battery and we had dJne this. as
it now appears, without very severe suf-
fering. The accounts which are coming
in. indicate loss of less than one thou
sand men. This, when we remember
that they had fought all day, against i'm
mense numerical odds, is a very small loss.
Yet when success was at flood tide, when
nothing had occurred but hard days
fighting to dampen their ardor, when no
immediate pressing danger was upon
them, our troops, who had faced death all
day, turned and ran away like frightened
sheep The cause seems to have been
simply this: A battery had exhausted its
ammunition, and teamstcr started his
horses upon ran for new supply. The
rumbling of his wagon and the general
anovoment which the passage of the horses
roccasioned, gave the idea that charge of
cavalry was imminent, and the panic.
which. probably originated in one man, or
one hasty, expression, was communicated
almest' instantaneously from man to man,
until the whole brave army came under
its spell. ..............
Itseems very doubtful whether the en-
cmy understood the state of affairs at all.
Their first report to their own papers were
very modest, mainly and simply stated
that they had repulsed our army and oc-
cupied the field, and that there was a
heavy loss on both sides. AS further ev-
idence,' either that they suspected there
was a ruse in it, for the purpose of draw
ing them out, they did not pursue our
troops. 1t is very clear that Beauregard,
with all his acuteness, assisted as he was
by jeff Davis and Gen Lee, did not under
standiit, or he would. with his immense
number of troops, have followed up his
advantage. lie had it in his power to
cut our army In pieces, and even, we are
inclined to thiIk, to have captured Wash
ington, but he made no attempt to do ell
ther, evidently supposing that our troops
would rally when his own should be well
drawn out from their entrenchments.
We cannot but regard the large num-
ber Of civilians upon the ground as one of
the causes, either originating, or contrib
uting to, thegpanic. Members of Congress
and gentlemen of leisure, to whom the
smell of powder was strange had no more
business upon the ground than the same
number of ladies' We hope that in future
no civilian, of any grade or calling, will
be allowed inside the line of battle. If
reporters must 60, let them 60 in the
ranks, with gun iu their hands. We
can very much better afford to wait for
the news than to loose battle or to be
shocked with such wild reports as the
miserable frightened fellows sent on at
first 1t is said that the first civilians
who reached Washington after the battle
were entirely obfuscated. They didn't
know anything and they could do moth
ing but rave. The country has been
fairly agonized by reports which were
anywhere from fifty to seventy five per
cent worse than the truth, simply because
they came through set Of men whose
wits had been scared out Of them So far
as this matter Of allowing civilians inside
the lines is concerned, our enemies have
managed much better than ourselves.
We trust that it will be impressed upon
the minds Of the powers az Washington,