, 1862-12-19
OUR WASHINGTON LETTER,
The Situation ON the eRappabannoe}x-
The Truth About 1t.

Especial Correspondence OF the Chicago Tribune.l
WAsa1KaToS, Dec. II, 1852
Soon after closing my letter Of yesterday, I
learned more about the sitnation at Freder-
icksburg Than il yet allowed to be sent oyer
the wires. Our forces would seem to have
falleninto the trap Of which tue. Richmond
papers warned them Week ago. The reason
tnat 1l.e rebels did not seriously contest the
passage Of the river, did notso construct their
defences as to make the Rappalannock part
Of them, is now evident. They wanted Gen.
Burnside 10 cross, they 1ured him On by a
show Of resistance; they.stimu1atedh his troops
By their musketry, Us Spanish pieadores in-
furiate the bull of whose ultiu1nte slaughter
they are confident, By the muskuto bites Of
their bandril1os in his nanks.
Yesterday found ous forces in line Of battle
under the eemicircular line OF hills curving
around fredericksburg and nearly reaching
the river On each side. They had taken a
ridge, but it Was a ridge zos CROWN
ed by works but commanded by the
enerny's guns on the hill above from
which, to the ridge, stretches a gentle slope,
aftording full sweep to the rebel artillery and
10 cover to an assailing force, which would
be unable to use its own guns-but sin Of ours
we're in play Saturday. They had galnea go
much on the rightas to 1eaye room for Hook
er's grand division, thus made the right wing
to dcp1oy. But everywhere and at ali points
except just at the bank Of the river and On the
bridges rebel cannon held them at their
mercy.
why are those cannon silent, then? il uatu-
rally the first question. Why were they silent
On Friday, when our soldiers were jam,ncd in
The streets Of Fredericksburg infantry, artil-
le1y, wagons, an undletingui=hab1e mass
pressing up narrow lanes down which those
guns were pointed? Why were the cannon
obst1nately silent except when the storming
forces rendered speech by them inevitable
What wait the rebels fors Is it for au1,nuui.
ton? Is it that they are SO confident Of suc
GEES that they wish to entice as .uany national
troops As possible over the river, and so have
waited fog Sigel: Il the former spppos;t;on
be correct, can it be that we have no officer ii
5u1clent enterprise to cut the railroad to
Richmond, by which alone Gen. Lee RECEIVES
his supplies Of the munitions Of WARP But II
the latter hypothesis be the true one. viii !
wise commander march more troops jnto this
cut dc sac2 VIII he not rather send his rein.
forcements to some point at which they NAV
attack to better advantage?
sagei is forbidden to t1ank the enemy as be
desired to do, is not even allowed to effectuate
a"sort Of general hanEing,'' again to ouote
hc,PreEidcnt's expression bT moving m tI,e
Rappahannock. He is ordered at the instance
Of Gen. burnside, to join him at Fredericks.
burg: There by this time he has douhtless ar
rived, notwithstanding tie cxccrablc, the "al
T11naf 1TnnAEpaH1t.1 nIc a..
ed at about double MeClellan's rate oyer the
excellent summer roads Of MARYLAND. Hehas
arrived with pefhaps 25,O00 men, the residue
OF Lis force under Gen. aloculn being at least
two days march bel ind him, Not alarge re-
enforcement in point Of numbers: but in
bEains-and even Gen. Halleck admits that
sigel understands the science and art Of Wat
and Wou1d make an excellent chief Of staff
very considerable addition to Gen, Burusiie's
supplies in that kind. Let us hope that he
will not scorn his subordinate's counsel, uuti]
he is forced to adopt it, as other generals as.
soelated with sige1 1n command hare done.
do not hear that any cavalry force has
been sent out to cut the rebel railroads; but
the thing seems SO obvious that cannot helu
hoping that this has been done.
Perhaps from another quarter helm NAV
come. wish could say more than pcrhaps
but possibly is nearer the truth than perhaps,
On Friday, Cen Halleck yielded so far to Inc
NIt
threaten Richmond and Petersburg; and
this morning. learn that one Of bis
columns has pushed up as far as white
house, the famous whitehousc on the Pa.
n1unky. What is to prevent a flying column
from marching thence to the Virginia Central
railroad and burning bridges which it will
take weeks to repair? Nothing but the will
Of Hallcck and the tlmitiity OF Dix. What the
forces ut Suffolk are doing + have not heard.
But why the troops There and those on the
Peninsula are not united into one body and
welded to a purpose; used to cut railroads,
to capture Petersburg or Richmond, it lie:
not in the civilian mind to comprehend. The
navy would only be too happy to unite in
such . movement. The Monitor and New
IronEides, now in the Roads; the Passaic,
lying at the navy yard here, and abont read :
for sea, are at the disposal Of the War De,
partment, if it bewillingto avail itself Of thei1
aid.
The success Of almost any plan Of opera-
tlons Of this kind, now that the whole rebel
army is held, and holds oura, tsas it were in q
rice" at fredericksburg, seems so inevitable
that the good sense of the nation catches OF
any r9rnor that indicates its adoption.
Hence tho eager credcnce which is accorded
III spite ofal1 the evidence to the contrnry-to
reports indicntny. ilsinuating, affirming that
Gen. Banks has landed In Virginia. Here. us
well as in Chicago and New York, perceive
That eyerybody's wish fathers this Thought, /
am sorry to be obliged to re>affirm that it can-
not be true