The Burlington weekly hawk-eye., 1862-05-17


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WASHINGTON ConRRsrOHDRNcE.
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II hss been the subject Of much fear that tha
national arms might fail in consequence Of %
large proportion Of incapables having been
pat in the lead Compared with the characte,
Of our men under arms, the generals are, q Z
mass, scarcely equal perhaps not equsl--te
the average Of the men in the ranks, and are to.
tally unworthy to lead suoh an army 70 the Geld
This could hardly be oshsrwiss, In the manner
that our army was, something Hike Of necessity,
made up. Certainly it was % have been ex-
,pscted. The appointment Of officers was strife
and scramble, when they had to be made %
rapidly that proper scrutiny was hardly possible;
In good part they we're appointed because they
could offer regiments and brgades, when regi.
ments and brigades were Immediately needed
and greedily taken on any terms; while the bal
ance were made chiefly on the recommendation
of politicians who had friends to pay OF, to
'conciliate, OF to secure. One gentleman on the
War Committee, who in no degree partakes Of
the sensation character, who is unlikely to be
either depressed or elated without sufficient rea-
son, who is not prone to speak without consider.
alton, and who, in his position, having had near
ly every officer of distinction in this quarter and
vesy many from other quarters Of the country
before him for examination, told me that he ut.
terly despsired Of the country, its fortunes hav-
ing been placed in the hands Of body of men
50 weak in character and capacity. Not having
seen it, he said no evidence would have made
him believe, none could have made him realize
the incapacity Of the body Of men to whom the
lives Of our army and the fortunes Of the ooun.
try were turned over. Think any one who has
seen much Of our leading commanders, has meas
ureably received the same impression, And yet
we succeed One thing our croakers and our
thoughtfally. .despairing men have overlooked
Wei the loyal side had, as class, quite as
good material to select from as the rebels, and
were not at all less likely to select with discre.
tion than they, for the circumstances with them
as confused, as. impudent and selfish as with u.s.
If we have fools, there was quite as great res.
son why they should have them, and they actu.
ally have eclipsed us in this respect. Hence,
on that score there never was anything to fear,
IS events have demonstrated. Yet, if incapac-
ity hes not seriously perilled our cause, it has
needlessly and deplorably sacrificed thousands
Of our brave and patriotic soldiers-hss carried
desolatiop and despair to thousands of homes
that yet should be bright with joy. Another
gentleman upon the same committee, "a man of
as much penetration and talent as any one on it,
tells me that Of all the leading men of the army
who have been before it, Gen. Mcclellan is the
weakest. He said he could not realize that he
was the head Of the army. He was the lightest,
the most effeminate, the least competent Of all.
In his examination he seemed lost, uncertain,
uusteady-a man for whom the term effeminate
was the fittest that could be used And this is
the man who was to turn Congress out of doorsl
the ''man on horseback" whom Dr.. Russell was
dreaming about; the young Napoleon who was to
lead the American army like an avalanche
against the rebels! But, said my friend, on the
other hand, no man has appeared before the
committee Of whose talents and military capac-
.ity have formed SO high an opinion as of Cen
eral Stone. That gentleman he considers the
most qualified to command of any in the army,
and greatly regretted his disgrace, he indvidu
ally having no doubt as to his actual treason
Gen. Stone was schooiboy companion Of my
own. knew him well in days long past, and
do not think this Judgment of bis talents and
military attainments is far out of the way. 80
The disposition made of the case of Mr. Van
dever, you will have seen. Had it been brought
to a vote, have no doubt but that the result
would have been as think indicated in my
last--a decision against the power to hold a
commission in the army and seat in the House
at the same time. But there was disinclina.
ton to decide the question against members
who are patrioticaly serving in the field, and q
hope was INDUCED that the difficulty might be
got over by the close Of the war before Decem.
ber-at least there was a ready willingness that
they might be continued in the possession of all
honor and influence as long as possible. In all
there are eleven members who hold COMMISSIONS
in the army, that can count up. There may
be still more. niga54 rs38ga .se 20 Iowa.
The BcMBAsDMEsr OF Fl. MAcoN.-From
graphic description of the bombardment of Fl
Macon, which was battered down in ten hours,
we cut the following short extract. 1t is from
the New York Tribune - ~ =
The scene at this time Was very grand, and
would have afforded the materials for Vernet
battle piece. The squadron steaming slowly in
their elliptical course, anu firing by turns; the
fort pouring FIRE and smoke at two sides; our
land batteries all engaged at once; the smoke
pufs of the badly sent bombs showing clear and
white against the, blue sky; the flag Of treason
and rebellion flying over the green slopes of
the work, and the bright sun above all shining
on the picture. The thunder Of cannon now
shook the ground benssth our feet, and the win.
dow panes ratified 10 the houses as if they would
be shivered the next xtinstant.s Women 1ho had
friends in the fort would stand on the Beaufort
piazza, throng the windows, and wave their
handkerchiefs in JOY so long as the fort was
firing upon US without reply; but when our At.
tack Was raging from land and ses, shell after
shell bursting within the walls or ontth RAM
parts, and one gun after another becoming si-
fenced, they shrunk from view, and no doubt
gave way to their grief in the privacy of their
apartments. A " slked that morning along
the river front to the boat in which I was to
cross to Morehead, and saw the fearful eyes and