The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1861-10-07
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Who inVssiabiy pot e:id TO ali argument
ano even di-coulse thereon by saying, "yVa
know bette. Jada tse Generals" "you
Ought 10 oiies yo,.f aarsl ees IS eonn'andcr-in
caieii /" lhc noav,.s,s Aaow betsertnan you,
DC Wepsv;cSt against this arbitrary dc.,isi
vi all r,s., 20 Judge IL cases where every
MctGer ayn ol rs IS - deeply Interested
We deny taat il IS necessary 10 &c a RArsA.>.
In ogdei - e.3oy tae e,a...es Of 0picluge \
A4an niay ..enlte yle atatae OF Clay upoli the
81 as.fe, u. discover deficiencies IA it. without
having ever n..noied a eiiiSe! or laoG.ded I.
hgafe iDe oars q a niaa ', 40 Iieve. lca,Ht IA
nc;e OF ha,,alc asay be r,.Yis.cd by The vio'i:.
oi PAcAs4NI or tle y,i<s Of jENN1 L.Sp.~-
II is noi requisite ,ilyt & man snoaid be- c;lp,-
Die oi commanding ~ array n order tIl.,t iv
should ios. ,.s os.ee, sioa OF iiisary move
meats, Scotia s.as certainly 8 grua.e. Grnc
raA tnaa ietGRs, ana sci There arg few u}sI-
tafy neaN, 40 y,ia decay thai 8ac si,letet,8 u
InitRs upon the ac,ious Of sol II arc jas.
ana discriminating HANNIBAL, TIE sre.tesa
OF a1.cseh;, and NAPOLEON, the greatest {.
modern ,.vner,is, nave been severely oriu'
,ised rs taea wAo ocEt.li.!y coaip Aesot nave
Tlsar,. taelr ,-cIeN eIaen.s, .i..i TIC military
World are agreed THAI n4aIly ot .hese criticisms
are proper 40 profession IL OF e. i..juru so
reeoatIte t.a, t.oIc Dui taC l44i4.te,- o..4i co-
pIeAcIt4 II 40 aO.euco Is ,.uS,G1se la. even
:. in.-si I'll very nioaegato intelligence may 10.
obtain !. 5oOd ldc;. Oh j, N.ltA proper oAouioA.
~ nave GA Inote l44n oAe occasion OK
pressed tao opinion tt.,l cdt .tIIilca ou2hi to
act aiGeA PosslC.e Oh ,Ao vi-s:,a4Ie III
lass wax. We do .ot c.a.4A taat oaT opinion
1s lniaA.5ie. w 40 Aot set Il up against lie
HcDe.a!s III command. We 10 HOT deny TIA.
t.4ey oIs,at 10 Eiiow letter tilau Nc 40. ). 4
ss,ielt, give reasons ior ii, a!ld lclit 70 10.
- hst II is worth Those sea>suo ;.o Wei
AnoNn 10 Tie pubic. We have, or a. .,.s,
We had $50 A-u4llns ago, "a force superior il.
the aggregate 10 TIE enemy. Tae Uior.latpe-
monty " as greater tl..,l. nc numerical. ~
proved thls 10 be the Idei u, Bethel. sllu =
Manaas.'- Apae from military eAigeney -,
ri which we Anow nothing, offensive opera
uoA- would have eCcu4cd 10 us 10 be dictated
~ policy OF the s0undesl aid most ,,uuEpc..tl
ab.s character. the o1jcc, certainly j, to Oh.
tain pea.cc by overwhelming ttc enemy How
could tlS Gc 80 readily accomplished a. hv al
lacking tim before be- had become PREPARED.
beating hllI out al the field, getting into ne
Il1st % bls resources. siid preventing The re0r-
Aaulzallon oI lis armies The most s.rtsu-
Jous defensive could have presented 80 l.c;.us
90 certain OF rcdUeiu5 TT ;-...ouul u blood
she'd ana We understand those VINO would
conIine cur operations 10 defence L. be ..y,ua.
ted ~ nc desire 10 Sa,ye the ehus.o.i uI blood
lie most cautious General IS lie VINO
attacks wien tbere is Il UcrtaiA,y uf sc-
GurIng advantage. The Fastest (,eucgl
is lie who sis down il his camp, Ul-!eeta
every Opportunity 10 secure an advantage. ai.u
leaves his troops 10 ueuider away wiJa ~
phoid lever, measles, low spir.is ANA lAe te.
Ealsien OF ioehng experienced b. all generous
youths v ho collie To ne lieid - measure bay
0Aets VITA the enemy and ind themselves
0sed Tor no purpose but TO Gig up dirt. scoop
out graves, make cVIAns, slaughter cattle,
steep on the damp ground, grow sick with
hops deferred, dc hAe sheep Vi tAe rot ana
DE buried like dogs without even a sheet
around them. One month Of campaigning,
under 4 General OF tbis description. will cost
more lives than three or Tour pitched battles,
Generals Of this description consider it wiz
dom, clfcumspeetion, ssgacity, prudence, to
slaughter thousand Of their lnen by uaction,
III preference to losing an hundred by fighting.
We have been told that !, war strictly anu
absolutely defensive, would he the best rolic,
for US, because it saved Rome against pYR-
RUS and HASNIBAI, and was practced by The
Duke Of Wellington in the Peninsula. We
deny both the propostionand the inference. and
II both We're true, it has nothing to ID with
thus question, which presents a case altogether
different from any of these three The Romans
did lot act purely or the defensive ag.,in.s
PYRfHCs They fought him almost az soon
as lie landed at Tareltum, and viii. 81
mnch obslinacy thar, though he clsi.aed the
victory, he said another such would ruin him
They fought him ii second time, aud he with
drew from Italy, assigning some other cause
for his retreat. FAEIUs MAxiNrS is ALWAYS
quoted as the great authority in favor Of de-
iensivo war HIS was appointed Dictator i'm
mediately after the battle of TLrasymene,
when, to nse the strong language Of DIR AR
MOLD, Rome was bleeding at every pore -
lie knew II was vain to contend with HAN
NfBAL in the field. He felt tlal he WAS not
Ms equal, as indeed who, except NApo-
LEON, ever was He knew THAT his mi.
litia could not contend With the heavy
arned African veterans Of the great Garth
genlan General, or the Roman cavalry, with
the Numidian horsemep. But he saw that
HASNfBAL was two thousand miles from
home tlAt the Romans had command of the
sea that no reinioreements could reach him
that his Gallo anNi!iuies would be CONQUERED
Oh desert him; and that his army left tn itself
in'ht gradually Waste away and he DESTROYED.
This was wisdou-this vasgemline prudence
BUt If Carthage had been contrrnlnous with
Apn'la--ii It had Possessed population three
times as large as All the dependencies oi Rome
put togetaer-it ibe CaYth.ceuia, Senate had
been pouring n troops 10 HANNfBAL at the
rate OF thirty FIVE thousand per week-wonld
II have been wisdom still to have acted or the
defensive to have waited until he had made
Capua so strong that il would nave been mad
meas 10 attack Men who reason in this way
seem TO as TO overlook altogether the infiu
enee Of circumstances IN directing the coudnci
OF leaders.
The Duke of WelIingtou's Spanish cam
paiens were anything else THANH, .bian. as they
have sometimes been called He commenced
them by dislodging SoClT from. Oporio-one
of the most daring offensive operations re
corded ia military history lie followed it W
by marching two hundred miles up the valley
OF the Iagu, uniting with CUEsTA, and fight
ing the desperate battle of Talavera 1t i,
true, that when he learned the intention Or slit
French 10 invade Portugal with a., array X