The New York herald., 1862-01-05
The Flight OF Floyd.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE HERALD.

Auo feOoi aCCOuut VDiibhou III youT VI tio
Gath instant, from the Richmond Wing Of December II,
OF the fight Of Fioyds army, contains many circum
stances Of interest to our community, Of which
have very important bearing upon the conduct of tho
pursuit by forces As the dispositions and action Of
General Benham, tho Union commander, have boon
called in question: beg peimisson to point out to your
readers the decisive testimony which that bears
to the vigor and ability which General Benham displayed
on that occasion.
l. General Benham has been censured for not sending
body Of 800 men, stationed Cassidays Mills 10 nter
cept the cnemys retreat by the Fayette road on tho
morning Of the 18th instant after his sharp skrosh Of
the previous afternoon In fact General Bonham did
order that force to thus, with tho single condition
sir it deemed safe and tho Adutant who bore tho
order and the Colonel to whom it given, agreed in
dcemng IL unsafe. The order therefore, was not
executed.
Now, the rebel account which you published expressly
states that learning that the Union troops were pur
suit the whole force Of Floyd in their retreat actually
halted and made preparations to receive attack sThe
brigade rereated back Fayetteville halted guard
tho road by which the cnemy was expected to como In
10 attempt TO cut or retreat" Had the small force
from Cassiday Mills vcntured upon attack they would
have found themselves engaged with Foyds whoio force,
halted to receive hem and would undoubtedly have
perenccd severe repulse, which would have given
Floyd the prestige of victory checked tho pursuit and
enabled Floyd TO of at his leisure and save hf
train Benhams cautious order saved that division Of
his from Disaster and the whole army the mortca
ton OF a serious check.
2 The account atests the vigor Of the pursuit.
have the aivantase and pursued faster than our men
could retreat" Floyd had the advantage of moving
twenty hours before his flight discovered. and
this period was Tor the most part good weather while
Benham pursued through tho rain which subsequently
came on which made the roads very diicult Not
withstandng this difficulty however, hc finally overlook
the main body OF the enemy and brought on an action
which threw the rebcs into utter confusion. Certainly
nothing short Of tho most vigorous activity could have
g. General Beniain fought the main body Of th, rebel
forces
has boen sneeriny said that the only robel troops st
tacd consisted Of single company Of cavalry. But this
account shows that the cavalry ony two miles In
rear stof tho brgade whom the action al Mccoys Mills
toa. place. in which Colonel Croghan killed Thsir
retreat infected TIE infantry with panic, ths they
fled cpnfson; but the pursuit.. was rapid that our
troops subsequently ''came upon them with csuoon,
and fred six shots upon the rear of the BRIGADE
The flight absolute and disgracsfal, and was at
tended with great loss OF equipage nnd stores.
vcrai bales OF blankets and oyercoats number OF
Ghosts camp cluipago of all kinds, and -four barrels
were burst aud their contents scattered ON the ground
oil to prov sat the eaemy from getting them" Besides
this they Abandoned fifteen wagons" and threw away
suapsacks This was certainly very complete and
& II i enliscy certain from hcse facts tha. Bcnbam
would have captured this rebel force had s boon
10 was already upon thempursuing "even with can.
n,n, f,stor than they could retreat His shot reached
oven tho Nv ng brgade OF infantry to which the roar
guard of cavalry had impaired their fears There can
be n, question: then, thai hal he been allowed " 70
IN the m ,-ing would have oyertaken these weared
and gsnixl forces OF tho rebels routed cap
tioi them all But the unhappy appointment by Rose
Gen Schenck to supersode him, and the mourn
I'll order Of schenck 10 discontinue tho pursuit, made
this complete success impossible.
For tho from disaster a. Fayete, and for tho
efficient and successful pursuit, the country is indebted
20 Gen. Bcnham; and, as tho reward Of tho zoal and
courage which have routed an army Of the rebels,
and in The language OF thor rebel writer sends
the il, fsted campaign in Virginia in a blaze OF
glory for the Yankees" he is arrested, stgmatized
as a coward, aud forbidden 10 his sword, by
men who did not como within sight OF the enemy. Tho
court of inquiry which would vindicate his fnnc, nnd
place the censure Of Fieyd's escape where impartial
examination will show that it really belongs, refused
by the immediate superior whose conduct II would in
vestgate; court martial Is threatened, and o month
elapses during which General Benham give othcr
idea Of the charges to be preferred against him than is 10
be gathered from the contradictory and irresponsible
ports oc newspaper correspondents. Every pouny-a>
liner knows moro about Benhams alleged deinquencios
than he ia permitted TO know himself Meanwhile the
n,n who routed Garnets army at CRrrick 3 Ford and
Foyds at Carnscx Ferry and from whom Floyd has
again fed n what this correspondent at Richmond terms
" the dsgrscoiu roul that armies hayo suffered
during tho war; is forbidden 10 In tho ranks in
which the hero of Vienna is honored soldier Is there
not mistake in all this, and some injustice which
needs 10 be righted. NJ.