Arkansas true Democrat., 1861-10-17

"never set a squadron in the field,
 Or the division of battle knew
 More than spinster,"
 asserts that our generals have blundered, or that 8 certain move should have been made, he Is apt to be told that our military leaders have studied the board carefully and may have had good reasons for refusing to take the step he so confidently asserts should have been taken. To this our Bobadi responds, by saying that the look CT on at game of chess often sees moves thates- cape the observation of the players. This may be true in chess, but false in war. In the lattler game the bystander sees but few squares on the board, and rot understanding the general plan, or why the pieces under his eye are ad- vanced or brought back, gets out of patience with the players, and declares that the game is badly played
 It was but yesterday that our Captain Boba- dl was holding forth on the necessity of taking Philadelphia, and blaming, in unmeasured terms, the policy of our government Every town has one or more Bobads, who may be seen every day upon the streets, enlighten ing the ignorant as to the proper policy to be pursued. If standing, he will be seen drawing rough diagrams on the pavement with the point of his cane, and showing how the thing could and should be done. Or if seated on dry goods box in front of store, the usual seat of such great men, with the point of his knife he marks out his lines and illustrates his warlike conceptions. We have a word or two to say to Capt. Bobadi, in this wise:
 Not long since Gen. Hardee advanced to- wards Ironton, Gen. Pillow on New Madrid, and the Confederate forces made strong demon strations against Southeastern Missouri and South western Illinois. After while Hardee fell back to Pocahontas and Pillow returned to Tennessee. Thereupon you was very severe in your strictures upon those officers and de- clared that Pillow should be shot and that Har- dee was an old fogy. Lane and Montgomery were on the Kansas border with considerable force, and Lyon vas at Springfield with 10000 men. It was necessary to attack him before any large force from Kansas could join him. By means of the railroad to Rolla he could have been reinforced in few days from St. Louis. The object would naturally be to pre- vent these endorsements from being sent to him. Now suppose, my dear Bobadil, that these menaces of Hardee and Pillow were pur. posely made to draw off troops from St. Louis. Fremont had his attention divided. If he sent endorsements to Lyon, the Confederates moved up the Mississippi river To check them he h,,,1t dee and Pillow. Left to his fate, Lyon gave us battle, and was gloriously whipped The ob. ject of the advances on Ironton and New Mad rid being accomplished, our troops fell back. We do not assert this was the plan, but subse- quent events show that it was probably the programme laid down at Q consultation of the leaders. Again; Mulligan was at Lexington, strongly entrenched. He too, might have been reinforced, and his situation rendered impregna. ble agrinst any force under Price, Active de- monstrations are at once made in Kentucky and in the direction of St. Louis-Fremont had his attention called to that quarter--Lexing- ton is taken and Billy Mulligan is prisoner But say you, our troops advanced towards Washington; fortified Munsons hill, Falls church and other points, made a show of crossing the Potomac, but have fallen back and let the enemy take and occupy these valuable positions You declare that you are out of patience with this marching and countermarching; this Fabi- an policy; this advancing and falling back, and sneerngly quote the couplet concerning the of tbo of To your position you read from the Richmond pa pers-the Examiner, Whig and Dispatch-all of which urge forward movement into Mary land, and the wintering of our army in Phila- delphia. These are strong packers, we grant, but let us suppose case. Of course it is mere conjecture and given by way of illustration. Suppose that these journals, and others in the secret, do Let wish any such advance to be made, or dream of march on Philadelphia. Suppose all this is done and said to direct at. tention to that point, and our forces are drawn behind the intrenchments at Manassas. where 5O,O0O men can hold 100000 at bay. Mean while, twenty or thirty thousand of these troops are moved, as rapidly as circumstances will ad. init, into Western Virginia, where, cooperating with Lee, they shall drive the invaders back to, and across the Ohio. While this is taking place, Gen. Johnston is driving the federas out of Kentucky and reaches the Ohio below Gin. cinnati. Suppose, further, that the point aimed at, instead of Philadelphia, should be Porkopo- las, and series of victories crowned by the expulsion of the Linconites from Kentucky and Western Virginia, and the control of the Ohio river. Then you would understand why our troops were placed behind the entrenchments at Manassas; why certain papers are crying Ion to Philadelphia and why mysterious movements are made on one part of the chess board while the real contest is to be on another part. In games of chess, we'll matched players often sweep the board of nearly all the pieces and are left with but few men with which to finish the game. Bet an adversary is often check mated with his queen, knights, castles and bishops all on the board. This is dore by so maneuvering as to get his important pieces crowded in one corner to defend a menaced point, while at another and exposed point, the king is attacked and mated.
 In the game of war now being played, we