The Burlington weekly hawk-eye. [volume] (Burlington [Iowa]) 1860-1876, 1862-07-26

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tho army went 10 yorktown. At last, when q
small fraction Of the army whipped 10 enenly
ct Williamsburg, Mcclellan, at long distance
from the feld Of battle, wrote dispatch 70 the
Secretary Of War that he should tsy 70 hold the
enemy in check; but they were too fast
The road to Richmond was open, and all he
had to do was to march out Of the swamps and
into Richmond; but he found the most swamp
he could, and sat right down in the middle of
1t and went to work digging trenches, and tens
OF thousand Of brave men were lost there by.
by sickness. Then, at last, after waiting.
for it would not be strategy to attack then.
till they were ready, We kept on digging.
trenches, till at last the battle of Fair Oaks
was fought, when the whole rebel force was
hurled on small portion of our army, whs
whipped them and drove them back pell mall
INTO Richmond, and across James River. But
OF course We did not follow them that would
not be fair to follow q whipped enemy, and 90
the battle Of Fair Oaks was lost, that is to say
we won brilliant victory, but it did us no
e'oo. IL would have been unfair to take "a.
vantage ofarouted army, so emsgnanimously
stopped and commenced digging. There was,
front, but We did not know what else to do
ana SO We commenced to dig ditch, and we
dug bitches until they had impressed and
drilled an army Of soldiers from their entire
population, ard they sent Jackson ON raid
70 winchester, and We waited for him to come
PACK with his 10000 or 80, 900 men, and We
heard that Corlnth was evacuated. But It
would have been unfair to Commence an ne.
tack until they brought their troops from Cor
NTH, and so we wait ed for the army from Cor.
NTH, and when they got in all the troops thew
ever hoped to raise, then we did not attack
them at all. They attacked us, as We hsd rea
son to expect they would. They attacked our
right wing and they hurled their whole foros
on our right wing of $4,000 men and durine
the whole of that Thursday our little army Of
10000 held their ground aud repulsed that
vast horde over and over again, and held their
ground at night. Well, sir, of course REIN
forcements were sent to those brave men, to
enable them to send that dsstardly army back
into Richmond the second time No sir, they
didn't do anything of the kind, At night in
stead ofreinforcements, they ordered retreat.
Well, sir, that was strategy. The moment We
commenced our retreat, it is said in the dis
patches the enemy followed us like demons
Of course they would. Whoever heard Of an
army retreating that was not followed, unless
they Vere rebels? Our lett and center intact.
A feint was made on our left and center. IS
have heard from one Of the bravest men in
that whole army Of the Potomac. He said
when his regiment was ordered under arms he
had no doubt that he was going to march ON
to Richmgnd with his regiment. He believed
the whole force of the enemy had attacked our
right wing. He believed there was nothing in
front. He believed that our hour of triumph
had come. His men sprung into line with
avidity, prepared to rush at the point Of the
bayonet into and over Richmond And never
discovered his error till he saw million and
half dollars worth property burnt before his
regiment. Then he began to think it did not
wear the aspect of an advance on Richmond,
They had been working there aud and lost
10000 men digging trenches, and spent
months bringing up seige guns. Then they
left their trenches without firing gun. Our
army was ordered to advance on the gunboats
instead of on to Richmond. & ' f+5"1
This colonel told me that he fought the enc
my three days and whipped them each day,
and then run every night like, using .
wicked word. No portion of that vast army
was in the fight except the men under Porter,
and they whipped the enemy the first day.
Well, sir, this is called strategy. ,e,s %
Now, sir, again I say why was this great
army Of the Potomac Of 230, 900 men, divided.
Human ingenuity and scarcely divine wisdom
could have devised any other way to haye thst
army defeated than the way that was adopted.
simply charge that grave errors have been
committed; but, as said before no other way
could have been devised to defeat that army.
have thought it necessary that these facts
should 60 forth to the people know that I
shall be denounced, but only BY two classes Of
people-one traitors, and the fools. Nobody
else will denounceime.e. '"ia gao.
Danger has now approached near enough to
our border, and is sufficiently threatening
along the whole line East and West, to cause =
resort to new and radical war measures to