Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-12-08

the Potomac advsnces--A gnifi.
Source.
fFrom ne wa.hlngtoa aepuhiicap, De-. i
siiALL THK AMY % rrE poronsc ApvAScEf
Thls : gseat question: before tse country. a.
indeed. thst can be clile.I question which 50
isr - its advocates are concerned. has bat oue
sieo--fiisia tllsse slaess-se -is''sIs l'.ss
had no hesitation IN taking the popular side Of
tli- Question: but that time has passed., and he
circumstances which would have inaaeRccd our
decision no longer exist.
While 40 - probable that such movement.
under the right military auspices, vond have
been crowned sith success stifi. ne are now sat
ished that, under the circumstances, il is NOT
safe move a,,.l. therefore not a wise one This
NAV tie etsIy determined by a tsile military
maxim OF uni, er-al a, plicaton. IL will be found
in the eollecticn Of msxims of Napoleon. repub
lishei ~ this connfr, under the auspices OF Lieut.
Gen Scott, and is from Mon,ecuculli one OF the
greatest military authorities of the age liz j. TO
this effect: "That the circumstances under which
n battle j. Ia be avoided or declined are when
there j. grester danger 90 be unprecedented from
defeat than advantages TO be derived from vic
tory
Now Get Ne test the wisdom of this pro3ose,l
advance by this maxim IL - admitted that ~
least IS GOO men are rather were, necessary Tor
the defense OF Washington when the lasi advance
was made upon Richmond by the way of the
Peninsula This iurce was evidently considered
adequate 20 meet the force likely 20 be sent
against "a with our army menacng Rich momd,
for II was decmed sufficient, with the iortfca
tons. 10 defend thi~ city
The raid OF Jackson aud Lee into Maryland.
with the whole Army OF the Potomic md Nr
glnia ia the immediate vicinity. demonstrates the
iallacy Of such an idea
The invasion ct the rebels shows that three
times the number OF troops l. required for the de-
Tense Of Washington. IT assaulted by the whole
rebel artay
The question il appears to "a. which now pre-
sents itself l. this: Csn spare from the Army
OF the Potomac sufficient force Tor the defense
OF WaShugton nndstill have sufficient force 20
advance rpon Rchmondf
II the Government and The Union Generals
can safely answer this question la the affirmative.
then they may safely ofcr battle to the rebe
army between this eits and Richmond. without
violating the cardinal ma Kim OF war quoted above
IL they cntertain tie least doubt upon the sub
ject. then they move o. ~ their peril. Tor. while
their triumph over the rebels would "a but y
little way towards crushing the rehelli0h their
defeat would inevitably involve the fall OF Wash
ington, aud the consequent triumph 81 the reyo
luton. The victorious rebel army would snrel,
follow blck oar routed aud demoralized lcgions.
oVcrWhclm the army of the defense Of Washing
ton. capture ~. aud. with the supplies and mu.
nitiona which they would get here. aud the
prestige thew would thus acquire push on 10
the banks OF the su-quenanna. aud even 10
the Hudson
Rut u may be- suggested. IL this reasoning be
correct. that the Army OF the Potomac will never
Ice ahlc 10 move. ~ the icbels will onlv have tu
increase their iorce between this aud Richmond
20 pcrpetually hold us 10 check All this may be
true, and still the Army Of the P0iomnc play an
important part. ana even decisive part, 10 Tie
contest The Army of the Polompc Is property
an army oi observation aud defense combined
thttis 20 say. an army % defend Washington and
menace Richmond whenever the rebels teiur,
their force sufficiently to enahle us consi.tcntly
with the cardinal militrry maxim 60 which ",
have referred. 10 do II A. hong ~ IL conpcl'
the rebels 60 keep 40 their force. aud protects
,shugton IL does al that u ought 20 do, under
present circumstances
l, j. he right wing aud the vulnerable cente,
Of this gigantic military position OF The rehe
States which ought 10 be nsstlled and "arried
The remaining wing may then be- simulu,neousl,
assilcl On both sides, and the front must hnnll,
succumb
Let ~ illustrate by arranging the co,ntatani,
upon field. precisely they are now arranged
bS their geographical location Let us suppose
fhtt the Federal lett Ivow rested upon fnrtllica
tions which. while IT, the LETT. acted strictly upor
the defensive rendered. IL not only impre4nhble
but supplied a rallying pnint for the dlsc"miitee
center aud right wing. but that the moment n as
snmed the offensive II became useless; would az,
military man Ia Europe or America advise thai
our LETT wing should attack before the enemy :
center and lett should have been carriedi
We think not Yet this appears To "a 10 be
the exact policy Of IN ri,ance OF the ARMY 81
the Potomac under existing circumstances. Pos
sibl, the tortune- OF war might favor sncl
movement. Still, We know that three time
already ms the tide Of battle been against il
this disastrous campaign.
We shall have more 10 say upon this important
topic hereafter.