Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1862-12-23
COMMITTEE On THE CONDUCT OF TIE
WAR AND THE DEFEAT AT FEED
ERICESBT'RG

The Committee on the Conduct OF the War
returned from the army Al an early hour Sun.
day morning. The committee were in session
yesterday, and have had before them Gen-rils
Halleck and Mrigs. Their report will be pre-
scented to Congress to day. il; is understood.
The Philadelphia Inquirer gives the following
as its leading points:
1t appears that the change Of base from W At.
rentOn TO Aqua was part OF the plans OF
Burnside lie laid his plans before Generals
EaileCk, Meigs and Haupt, at the celebrated
council Of war in Warreaton (of which We
s'nt you word at the timp.) The plan was
then approved, but WAS broughtto Was aington
TO be submitted TO the President; on the follow
ing day m received notice TO move ut eac =; that
his plans had the entire sanction of the Pres
dent and Secretary of War. His idea was TO
move suddenly TO Fredericksburg; to cross
there open his base OF supplies from Aqua,
and push rapidly on TO Richmond. From the
o.siance The Rebels would have to march to
r. ach his front, he expected TO get thirty or
fUrty miles south bt fore they came up, and if
they gave battle, he felt perfectly confident of
his ability 10 crush them and drive them into
tl;eir " orks at Richmond.
Sumner was started ON the advance. In the
arrangements made, however, in Warrenton,
nv wa> promised pon;oons and supplies should
M II him at Falmouth. sumner was to cross
at once, hut when he arrived no bridge was
there and no supplies. This WAS the fatal
omission that SAVED the Rebel army aud their
CAY itali
i; gave them a delay for ten days; Summer
waited ter lOntcons 10 come up. They came
at last, but IL tn, meantime the enemy had Re.
covered FRI n their panic and were throwing
their whole army in his front. They were
tori wing the heights opposite. Jackson and
Hill had IT abe forced marches from the Shenan-
doah Nal!'y, and arrived IN his front The
enemy grew desperate and sent forward every
spare man from Richmond to impede our ad-
vance.
The best evidence of their weak position is
siown from the fac' that they hurr-dly massed
ali their army in Eastern Virginia, in Burn
SIDE front. every other point WAS evacuated.
storms and minor matters made temporary
d. lay s. but at last the army was ready to move
- V.r"l plans were proposed 10 carry their
works in front
That of General burnside WAS to carry the
first line by storm, and then 10 follow them SO
rapidly that they could not max Il stand be.
hind the others, W hen they were to be driven
by the Reserves until decimated, ana forced TO
surrender or cisperse, or scatter and take to
the mountains.
The plan wss approved by the leading Gen
erals Win the exception We learn, of General
Hooker, tho dissented, but agreed to lend his
EN-, rgies TO the attack. II was Il brilliant one
and was endorsed by G n. Halleck, who had
previously iss ued orders TO Gen. Burnside that
the enemy must lie attacked.
The battle VI fought. The enemy's right
W a. tUinrd by Franklin; the corps of A p
Hill was driven from the first line into the
second. The rebels received achievements
Our troops slted; none came to them They
were oyerpowered by superior numbers and
fell back. Here was the critical nome nj of the
day We lost il for the tIma
On our right VT We're less successful. but wan
some ground AT nightfail. Burnside was dis
SATISFIED With the work, but not dishcartened.
He determined 10 make another effort at day-
Light, and believed We could succeed, but a
council Of war was called. All were opposed
to it; and he had but one course to pursue-to
fall hack.
"None will ever believe how near we came
TO having success" said Burnside
We lost, by Burnside's testimony, about 10. ONO
killed and wounded aud many of the wounded
perhaps two-thirds, Will be able to join their
IT ciments.
1t was said that Sumner ought to have forded
the river when he arrived; bat there was four
feet OF water, and the men would have been in
an isolated condition if a rain had raised the
rlyer, and the Rebels might have fallen upon
him when reinforcements could not have
reached him, and crushed him, and, perhaps
taken the " hole prisoners.
General Hook wanted TO come down on the
south side OF tie river, but his doing so would
have placed him in the same isolated condition
General Haupt is eyonerated from all blame
Ia mol having mad the railroad in operation
sooner He acted subordinate to General Hal
lrck, and completed his work in q much shorter
time than any one imagined could be done
Insre was delay there, but it rests solely
General Meigs threws the blame of the non
arrival Of the pontoon train on the engineers.
but General Halleck says they are in no way
responsible for any details regarding any move
General Woodbury., Chief OF Engineers,
attributes the delay Of the pontoons to their not
having been started in time and the bad roads
Who lie directly responsible for this the com
HlI.ec are now sndeay oring to Il rret ont
The President and Secretary or War are
entirely free from all responsibility; there i, no
civilian interference the censure will all fall
upon military men.
The testimony Of Gems. Halleck and Meigs
closed the evidence before the committee. The
despatch ordering the pont0ons TO be sent to
Aqua was written at Warr-aton by General
Meigs, and signed by Gen. Halleck. Both shield
themselves upon the idea that they are not re-
sponsible for the failure Of their subordinates
Halleck says ne had no more business with it
after issuing the order han he had with the
moving OF the artillery, and Meigs says the en-.
glneer department is not under his control.
The action Of the engineer brigade at Falmouth,
In falterlDg when put under fire in the morn.
ing, and taking all day to put up the bridge, is
fault OF no little maSnitude, as Gen. Burnside
says their delay allowed Lee TO concentrate his
forces In front-a part Of W hich were down al.