The Evansville daily journal. [volume] (Evansville, Ia. [i.e. Ind.]) 1848-1862, 1861-10-01
The surrender of Lexin gton.

The Surrender of Lexington. FL
We, in common with many other papers,
expressed our surprise that Lexington was
not reinforced and we ventured the opinion
that it might have been dones. if the proper
authorities had done their duty promptly.
The leading papers of the country have
united IN a general howl against Gen. FIRE.
mont, and we have. been censured by some
of our friends, because we did not join in
this crusade against a man who, SO far as
we know and by the light of the facts now
elected, has done all that he could to serve
his country. We had collected from
different sources, the facts connected
with Gen. Fremont's operations and had
embodied them in an editorial, when we
came upon the following article from
the pen of Schuyler Colfax, who has just
returned from St. Lonis. Il embraces all
the facts and is from reliable source. We
venture the assertion, that the papers which
have been loudest in their eceusure of Free
mont, will not find room for this article
Nothing finds its way into their colnmns,ex
cept dennnciations of every man who IN
fortunately is unsuccessful in his plans.
Fremont had -four rebellion armies in the
field against him, besides smaller divisions.
Price threatening Lexington, with 10000
Mccullough threatening Rolla, and Jeffer-
son City, with Is, 900 Hardee, with an un-
known number, threatening 1ronton Polk,
and Pillow with &c, 600 at Columbus, KY,
and with the u. s., forces at Pad1cah, and
Cairo, inferior in number to them. Besides
obese. are Martin Green, JEFF. Thompson and
others with smaller numbers, mainly drawn
from Home rebels. In all, not less than
SO, 900 have been in the field against him,
a large number of them frem Arkansas,
Tennessee, Mississippi, and Texas-nearly
as large a number as have been threatening
Washington, for the defence of which, the
whole country has been called upon for re-
Inducements. Y ct Mcclellan has not been
subjected TO the cruel charge of /" inefieien-
cy, and we are glad he has not been.
Besides clearing north Missouri of the
rebels, Fremont had the following points 10
defend: Lexington, Rolla, 1.-THE terminus
of the S. w. branch of the Pacific r. R. J
Jeffarson City, (the eapital) St. Louis, Iron
ton, fthe terminus of the Iron Mountain
R.R Boonville, Cape GiraFdeau, on the
Mississippi River, Birds Point, Norfolk,
Cairo, Fsrt Holt. Ton the Kentucky side of
the river, south of Cairo, and guarding the
approach tOit), and Paducah, which COM
mands the mouth Of the Cumberland and
Tennessee rivers. How large q force he has
at his command to hold these points and
also to fight these opposing armies5 we do
not feel at liberty to state
Again: it is well known at st. Louis that |
he had all his plans laid some time since,
for surrounding and capturing Martin |
Green. while in North Missouri. The In |
toxieation of an U. S. Rrigadier General |
frustrated them, and allowed him to escape. I
Another movement was Immediately pann-
ed. which by a bold, and successful dash I
in the West, would have probably broken |
mn the rebel army on the Potomac in their
anxiety. for their homes. The regiments
from Indiana and Wisconsin, on which he |
relied to swell the numbers of his attack /
ing party, were just at this time ordered [
East, which ended that movement. Then I
Price advanced towards Lexington, and the +
orders were already prepared for the con-
centration of sufficient troops to reinforce I
Mulligan and capture the rebel army. Just +
then came the order from Washington for
5000 Of his best armed and equipped
troops to be sent thither Immediately and
they accordingly went East instead of
West. We know what his feelings were
when he received the order. We were
there al the time, and he said, "Washing- +
ton, If in danger, must be saved, even if the 1
West is lost and myself Destroyed But
reinforcements. were ordered to Mulligan.-I
Why those which left north Missouri by his
orders FIVE days before the surrender, die
not arrive, no one as yet knows. Those
which left Jefferson City two days before
the surrender on steamers, were compelled
doubtless, TO proceed slowly, and cautiously
up the river, and the messenger to Lane lin
Kansas may not have reached him.
We do not allude to. these things as the
apoloRist for Gen. Fremont or any one else.
We are no mans partisan in this contest :
and the officer, who, having sufficient
troops allows his country's cause to be de-
feated, we would have displaced if he were I
our nearest and dearest friend To show.
however, how the number of his troops have
been exaggerated, even by those on the 7
SPOT we would state that while we were in
st. Louis, two of the highest provisional c
State officers told US that there were 90, 900 @
troops in the city, and that half of them at Q
least could be spared, and should be sent,
with others from other points, after Price.
So we thought too, and told the General =
He handed as the muster roll of the q. s., f
in and around St. Louis on that day, NAM n
bering 6early 5000, composed of two full !
regiments, and number of fragmentary 7
3nes. After that, be received the order for
troops to be sent to Washington. II
Z We would not alIude TO these figures c
sven at this time, nearly two weeks after \
wards, had it not been that St. Louis has
Iince been reinforced by fresh troops from q
Illinois; but it may answer some of the + q
questions of the Tribune. Even the Israeli 4
tes could not make bricks without straw. L