The weekly Lancaster gazette. (Lancaster, Ohio) 1860-1863, 1862-12-25
corespopdeuee Of Cincinnati Gazette,
The Battle at fredericksburg,

WASHINGTON, December IO.--lt Will b.
we'll ! think. not to be too ready to be
ieve that all is lost because our arm
have suffer a reverse. .,...I
There are men of intelligence here
presume you will speedily hear from som,
Of them in Cincinnati. also-wh hav,
suddenly become lhc living cmbodimcnll
of Panic, AS if ,spulses were something
new to MS. as if we had never failed here
tofore to accomplish al that We had in
leuded. we IRE now assured by. these
panic stricken gentlemen that we have
encountered disaster 81 terrible that oEl
cause is forever hopeless. unIess--what'
! Why unless - General Mcclellan is forth.
with restored 10 command We had
such arguments once beforehand the re,
suit was not 80 Overwhelmingly favorable
as TO renderus specially anxiety ior auo.
| tier dose Of The specific which these dis.
interested gentlemen have always onhaud
ready to be taken iu broken doses, al eve
ry crisis in the national disease. ... .r.
repeat. it will be well not to be toe
ready to believe the panic stricken assert
ers thar everything is lost, because some
thing is lost The case 10 bad enough
bnt /! is as unwiSo to exaggerate ourdis'
asters as our victories.
Let US honestly face the facts:
This mornings dispatches brush ava;
all such cObwebs as the pleasant fclior
that We had merely made reconnaissance
in force on The rebel works. We attempt
ed 10 take those works. we made vigor
Gus, bloody and pro'racted attack upon
them--ill judge, it would seem. bu
siubbornly continued from an early hour
in the morning ill pghtfaIl. We escri
iced ten thonssnd men; lost several o
our bravest Generals, aud Withdrew from
the hopeless task Thar is mHnifestly The
simp.e truth; and willie it is unwise tC
attempt the childish process of sugar
coating it for the popular palate, il is
more foolish still to enlarge il into mon
strous proportions after the fashion of the
nursery tales, in order to frig} ten the
people into gratifying the wishes OF the
story .telIers.
We attempt TO gain tha retel works
We fought all day, and at sad sacrifice
gained only the frs, ridge back Of Fred.
sricksburg, which merely brought Us
more fairly under the rebsl guns. Itwa,
a valuable point from which to start a
forlorn hope t, storm the works but we
we're too exhausted to storm, and had M
men fiji for the work And so we have
given up what we spent so many lives to
gain, and have abandoned the attempt "a
take the rebel position f,om the front
not, perhaps because it is wholly impos
sible, but certainly becsuGe it has been
demonstrated 10 be too costly way.
1t was no: disastrous rout (as some
are, with Questionable motives, engaged
in representing it), because we retired
in good order, and, as it is stated, los
nothing on the return, 1t was not = de
feat, for we held our ground even gained
advantage and could have continued tc
hold what we have gained had it been
thought desirable. Technically speaking
we might evan claim that it was not re
pulse, for we did gain something, and
we're not driven from the positions VIC
took. ....
But the fact is patent that we under
took more than we could accomplish
and that, after giving it nm earnest trial
we have abandoned the attempt.
Certainly this affords goad ground fo'
grave questions as 10 the geusrslship we
have employed; but there is aught 10 il
to warrant the dispair which some have
been expressing? We have not beau
wont. under moro scientific gsneralshlp
to consider the loss of ten or 6tlOsn thou.
sand men a matter OF much moment.
We have stiIl magnifcently drilled
aud equipped army on the north side oI
the Rappahsunock- fully one-half larger
than the rebels have opposing it. If we
cannot 6ud the brains to use tbeae i'm.
mense means Of success and organize vic
tory for US, we cannot take Fredericks
burg on the front, the tanks are open
II we cannot take it on either flank, wi
have the whole country to march over
! We can cross above or below, push Il
their rear and past them, and leave then
10 hold their fortifcatous while We hast
en- on to the capital they are striving tt
protect. To say that. with one half more
men than our antagonists, we are power
less for aggressive movements is a comics
si6h of incompqtency and imbeciIity tha
no patriot will believe till he is forced t.
do IL. . 'l .. DDS. ... ...
will not believe there ore, The fore
hodlrr tina, our reverse Mt Fredericksburg
must result in ~ winter quatters. There
b ia, no need Tor it--no reason why ",
should not Instantly continue the camp
aign, and renew our operations against tn
enemy. In short, with genersshlp tha
do, not disgrace the name, it would no
yet lie impossible Tor our army TO celebrs
to the holidays in Richmond. .'a'.'t
Nor is it well just yet, l think, to as
sumo that Burnside has proved himsel
. incompetent. Frederick the Great one
made This announcement: IL have lost
( great battle, and solely through my owl
t fault" Under the circumstances, it wa
the most inspiring announcement he CO..
/ have made. and it WAS the p esage Of on
of his most glorious victories. We die
! not condemn Mcclellan after Rich Noun
tain. the secret history Of which was en-
ough to damn any ordinary man. VI
i, did not even condemn him after the mas
sacre Of Balls Bluff; and it w,s not til
Yorktown, the Chickabomihy, and Antie
IAN had been added to the fIightIul lis