Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-07-07

full men of the army of the Potomac, nor viii il
dazzle the sight of the angry people so as for a
moment TO obscure their perception of the crime
against the nation, which has made this change OF
base and front imperiously necessary. This crime
is the refusal to reinforce Mcclellan. / don't
care about the question-which legislators, sol
diers and politicians, have debated-of this Gen
erals fitness to command. The York and James
river peninsula was not the place for that discus
sion. The hour of the junction of Beauregard's
and Jackson's forces to those of Johnston is not
the time for such a debate. / care not for any
criticism of Gen. McCIeIlan's campaign on this
Peninsula or on the Potomac. / have blows
but not a word, for the untimely casuist, in OF
out of administrative Office. who, under the
roar of rebel cannon sweeping our ranks with
shot and shell, meets the demand for aid to
this army with a chronological measure of de
lays at Fort Monroe, at Yorktown, at Will.
liamsburgh, at Seven Pines. | don't care
whether there were delays or no delays
whether they were McClellan's delays, Quar-
termaster Generals delays, or the delays OF the
elementsl No man, no party, no interest shall
with my assent or my silence, be permitted i C
mix up with the sacred right of an outnumberec
American army to demand help from then
countrymen and to promptly receive it, collateral
questions of fitness, of vigor, of fidelity in com
manders.
When loyal New York regiments, lifted from
their fee. by the fire of rebel brigades, cry, out oil
their wounds and death, for help-when the
choicest of New England, Michigan and Penn
s%ylvania troops, outnumbered in front and OIL
both TANKS by whole divisions of the enemy, bee
for reinforcements, l say that the blacklist crime
that power can commit is to stalk upon the field
of peril and say "SOldiers, / have no faith il
your Commander Let your martyrdOm pro
coed" And so says this army of the Potomac, anC
it registers tonight VOWS of vengeance as i
marched in the dark from a position which thei
diminished numbers and disabled men prevented
them from holding, but which is consecrated t
them forever by their sufferings, their llbors ant
their wrongs. The politicians and Statesmen
who lett US here to be o~utnumbered and cut of
from our supplies and the possibility of retrea
are doomed men.
We here knew that the rebel army befor,
Richmond was being reinforced with the mos
desperate energy. We knew that jackson wa.
to come. We knew that the whole power of thu
Confederate rebellion was being put foI tn to &C
cumulate a force here which just by its weigh
should crush the Union army. Why were no
corresponding efforts put forth by the Admins
%tration at Washington to strengthen our army a
least to an equality with that of the enemyl ",
being superior to the rebels in population, wealth
and all resources, the neglect to send into AM
and every field a preponderating advantage oil
our side is of itself a crime, which, had we Ro
man virtue, would be inexorabIy punished witt
the axe. Tn pickets of both lines firing int
each others bosOms day and night for a who'll
month of deadly luminosity, and ours feelin!
every successive night and each successive morn
ing that the enemy grew stronger while we grew
~wedker-Olicers, men, and civilians keenly con
scious that when the rival brigades or division
locked together in combat, the enemy outnum
bered US in a constantly increasing ratio, and de
velOped their settled policy to be to attack il
cOlumnt in mass, because they had the troops Il
do it with all of us demanding enforcement
and demonstrating its necessity. We CRASHED GU
teeth at receiving from President makers ant
Convention engineers, instead of corps d'armee
a question for debate: Can a civil engineer be
good generalg We had no time to debate wheth
er Mcclellan was a good General or a bad one
He ras our General, and the strong grip of tn,
strengthening foe was upon our throats, and W
wanted help. We did not care whether it cam
to us under Halleck, or Burnside, or was com
mitted TO Mcclellan. Not "A single man of u
who is not II fool or a slave, is fighting here 70
the glOrifcatiOn of any commander. We figl
for successive fight to save the Republic, am
to squelch forever on this continent organize
rebellion against the democratic principle.