Daily Democrat and news. [volume] (Davenport, Iowa) 1859-1864, 1862-11-21


assistance Of the navy, and the fatal re-
moral of McDo,ceTs corps, by which
had been prevented from CAT
rying yorktown ny . coup dc main, de-
ptived the Federal army OF the chance
oil brilliant succ.s. The enemy re-
treated, carrying with them the con-
seriousness that they had gained so 'nncn
I me for tho defence OF Richmond, aud
the Federal forces saw the campaign
open into larger perspective OF labors
in the field, and with d'minlshIng hopes
Of an amicablc adjustment OF Il nation
al difficulties.
THE puasrIr-TuE BATTLE OF WILLIAMS
BuRG-ruE SIEGE OF RICHMOND.
Here follows an account OF the pur-
suit and the battle OF WILLIAMSBURG
which doe. not differ materially from
those published at the time. Going 10
the siege of Richmond, the narrative
proceeds
THE ENEMY CONCENTRATING HIS foheEo
AGAINST MCCLELLAN
Cavalry reconnolsances pushed IN an
directions demonstrated that nearly the
whole hostile army had crossed the
Chickahominy. and everything indica-
ted that we should meet a desperate re
-istaLce under the walls OF the Confed-
crate Capital. Prisoners had been Ia
ken who belonged TO corps which had
np TO this time been stationed opposite
Gen. Burnside in North Carolina. 1t
was plain that this corps bad joined the
Army Of Virginia We soon learned Of
the evacuation of Norfolk. II was man
,iest that Davis could OILY have made
this sacrifice in ORDER 10 bring llnger,
with his $4,000 men, 10 Richmond
Finally, the Conf deratc chief had or
dcred levy e,, mosse OF every man able
. to,r o,,'s 4 4
The result of all this threatened the
army of the Potomac in ito only superi
oritv, that of numbers.
N cLELLASs ARMY LEFT TO MELT AWAY.
Unhappily, too. uh,lc the enemy scas
concentrating and ST engthea'ny his
forces, oars acre melting array. We
have already seen at Alexandria divis-
ION detached ana sent 10 Fremont. Be-
tore yorktown we he'd lost two other
divisions under Mcdowell. We had
since lett garrisons in Yorktown, Glou-
cester ard Williamsburg. We had lost
men under ire and ~ disease, as we'll AZ
10y Struggling. Nofhi"y came TO Jill up
Y
marches to the war il goes as Whole
and leaves Oeh nd II no depots OF recruits
to restore its ranks as they are wasted
away.
WY ADECIsivE BATTLE WAS NOT fouGhT,
AND WHO is TO BLAME.
The destruction OF the Mcrrmac is al
Iuded To-, and 1t Is remarked:
Mcclellan had driven The enemy home
upon his Capital, and brought hun to
the issre Of decisive battle. | know
that such battle ought to have been
won and was not won. But here the
responsibility IS far iron JeloDgiay to the
CHEF or to his army. Who were the
men WHO, driving them Into an untln.e
" campaign had so revealed to the enc
my operations rot yet ripe frr execution!
Was Mcclellan Iesponslblc for that wan,
Of unity IN the ends aud in the action OF
the Government which had tramneled
the movements of the army since he had
been deprived OF the cbief command aud
supreme direction OF the armiest Was
Mcclellan responsible for the systematic
,iminution of his forces, which, IN the
face of the agg Generation of the forces oil
the enemy. had successfully deprived
him, since the campaign had opened, OF
the division of Blehker and Of two thirds
of McDoweIl's corps, without sending
him one solitary man to fill up TIE
gaps ade by sickness and by tie can
no. (! In spite of all these obstacles
he had reached the walls OF Richmond
but he had no longer the means of s,rl.
king the great blow which probably
would have ended the war. In a hostl,
county what appears simple recon
noisance may often prove a serious and
general attack. There large force j.
needed 10 guard against surprises, aud a
still larger force to secure lihes Of cornmu
nicat,on,which cannot be broken without
danger. : Reintoic emeuts were
needed. Whence should they come
Gen. Wool, from Norfolk I; Burnside
from North Caro- ina, might send some
men, bat very few, phiie oround Wash
snafon more than eiyhty thousand ,ocrc
| collected. Of these about one half were
making head agalnst the partisan Jack
son in the Valley of The Shenandoah
The rest were collected under Mcdowell
at Fredericksburg, 60 mics to the north
OF Richmond. They had rebuilt the rali
way bridge over tie Rappahaunock, aud
in three or four days they might have
joined the army of Mcclellan. The,
recovered nothing ut Fredericksburg, ana
trere 50 notoriousiy useless to the Fedeyn.
canse Mut a tie Confederate journol
they mere spoken Of os the ".ft'h wheel Of
,he coach"
GILLIAN DETERMINED TO PUSH OUT
AND OPEN ROAD FOR M'DoH
ELL TO COME TO HIS AID.
1t was known that NJ DoweIl =. sir i
ardcntly to sive the lie to the IA Ter :
by bringing a, the decisive mon emit )
assistance 10 the cause of Uni,,. A :
cordinyly Mcclellan had no So, ner r.
rived before Richmond than h. I'M fer
took to discover what he had 10 A ,pe
for on this side. No otfciat odyi e
either from Washington or from Fret.
ertcksbu,g, hud INFORMED him Of M.