The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1862-07-24


The evidence further stated that the presi-
dent assisted the navy department as
much Is he could with this plan; but
General Mcclellan objected, because he
feared the arrangements for landing could
not be made. Thus, he said, the nation
was disgraced for months by the blockade
OF tie Potomac and the Capital by force
at no time half that of the United States.
La December the nation began to clan,or
for movement, and the committee on
the conduct OF the war urged the heccssity
OF some movement, and the Preside and
Cabinet were in favor of some forward
movement, and they were assured by Gen.
Mcclellan that movement would be made
very soon; that he never intended to 90
into winter quarters, and that he did not
Our brave men spent the winter il c,nl $
tents. AT lest, in January, the President
gave an or'or 10 move forward, and those
& or oas events took place at FIT. Donelson,
Fort Henry, Newbern, etc, and do moth
ing strategy seemed to give way to works,
and the DAY Of spades, pickaxes and
shovels was over. On the 99d of Feb
ruary the army of the Potomac was or
dered to move; but it was not ready
At last on the 10th of March, it did move,
under the protest Of the commander. On
the 10th Of March that army numbered
.al, ,ln0 men by muster roll. They
marched on Manassas and the wooden
guns of Centreville. and The enemy, less
than 10000. quietly moved away.
At council OF war, eight generals
voted not to advance on Manassas, but
leave the enemy there and sneak around
to Annapolis. Seven out Of the eight of
these generals were appointed by the ad-
vice OF Gen Mcclellan. Bat the Secre-
tary OF war overrnlied this, and made the
army move on Manassas. Why the me e.
nlheent army OF 2oO, 900 did not march
Oh Richmond no one knows; but at last
Gen. Mcclellan divided the army and
sailed for Fortress Monroe. The COM
mittee on the conduct of the war sum
moDed Gen. Wadsworth, who swore that
he had only 1902 men left to defend
Washington, and not single gun noun
ted on wheels, and part of this force was
new and andl>cipliued, and some nearly
disorganized. He Mr.. ChandIer) then
read from the testimony Of John Tucker,
Assistant Secretary of War, who testified
that prior to the 9th of April l20,o 900
men were sent down to Mcclellan; then
Franklin's division was sent, $4,000
more; the lst or June McCall's divisions
10 600 men, and about that time II coo
from Baltimore and Fortress M N ae. and
last June Shields division al ahaal 5,lta1
were sent, making lotii ot SO 0JU men
sent to General Mcclellan prior to tie
engagements before Richmond. Mr..
Tucker further testified that he did not
know of any other force which could
have been sent to General Mcclellan.
THUS, Mr.. Chandler said, il is shown that
l5s, 600 of the best troops that ever stood
on God's footstool have been sent 10 Gen
eral Mcclellan, and yet the reasonable
press was bowling against the Secretary
of War because he had not sent reinforce
ments TO General Mcclellan. He read
further from the testimony Of General
Meigs, corroborating Mr.. Tucker, and
saying that be believed that everything
that Mcclellan asked for had been
promptly sent to him by the government.
Mr.. Chandler continued. saying that Nc
Clellan lost more men in the trenches,
FIVE to one, than ever fell from the enemy
since the army went to Yorktown.
At last, when small fraction of the
army whipped the enemy at Williams
burg, Mcclellan, at long distance from
the field of battle, wrote dispatch to the
Secretary of War that he should try to
hold the enemy in check; but they were
too fast.
The road to Richmond WAS open, and
all he had to do was to march ont
of the swamps and into Richmond but
he found the most swamp he could and
sat right down in the middle of it and
went 70 work digging trenches, and tens
Of thousands Of brave men were lost there
by sickness. Then, at last, after waiting
till the enemy chose, for it would not be
strategy to attack them till they were
ready, we kept on digging trenches, till at
last the battle of Fair Oaks was fought,
when the whole rebel force was hurled on
\ small portion Of our army. who whipped
them, and drove them back pell nell into
and across james River But
Of course we did not follow them-that
would not be fair to follow whipped enc
my, and 80 the battle Of Fair Oaks was
lost, that is to say,..we won brilliant VIC
tory, but it did us no good 1t would
have been unfair to take advantage Of
> routed armv. SO We magnanimously
stopped and commenced digging. There
was no army rE front, and no entrench-
ments in front, but did not know what else
to do, and SO we commenced to dig ditch
and we kept digging bitches until they
had impressed ard drilled an army Of sol |