Litchfield enquirer., 1862-11-20
REPORT os THE INVESTIGATING COMMITTEE ON FH1
 HARrER.s FERRY SURRENpER.

HARPER FERRY SURRENDER
 The report of the committee appointed to ln- vestigate the surrender of harpers Ferry, gives a brief narrative of events at or near Harper's Ferry, the object being to show that is relief was possible previous to the surrender, and that the garrison if properly comm .nded, could have held out longer. In that event. 1t maintalns, nearly thirty five thousand of ths enemy would have been prevented from joining Lee at Antie- tam while the nation would have been saved tie bitter m. rtifcaton of losing the services of over ten thousand men pa roled, all of whom have not this day been exchanged
 The censu' es which are administered to all the parties concerned, excepting General White are in brief as follows:
 lst. To Major Baird. oe the l26th New York regiment, for bad conduct m action, he being held responsible for the disgraceful behavior of line r-,iment after the wounding of Colonel Shsrl.
 | zd To Colonel Ford for not managing prop elly the force (thouyh in"iilcent) 'that Was gwen 1 him defending weakly the point most exposed to the enemy leaving the l26l! New York reg | iment without d competent officer after its col onels fall, and, in q word, for prematurey abandoning his position, which was found nexs day to he u;incL upied. " It Is clear to the com' mission that Col Ford should not have been | J!tC Q III CtllHhdHu pil shoe ,c conduct q the defences without ability. and ondoned his position without sufficient cause. '" Hence he is pronounced to be disqualified for further command in the service.
 | Sd To Colonel Miles, whose case, it is al. !eeed has been carefully investigated and ten. l l,.rlv dealt with. Yet the fact thathe has met his death on the 6eld at the enemys hands must ,t screen him from the verdict, based upon ure hundred pages of testimony, which i. " strangely unanimous" The language made nsc of respecting this officer is certainly not lacking in strength, as is evinced by the phrases .' diSgracelully surrendered,' Colonel Mies's
 nnapacity. amounting almost to imhecility, his criminal neglect, to say the least, &c.- The Commission find him guilty of dsobeyne General Wool's orders to fortify Maryland Heights of placing Colonel Ford in command with fe ,blo force of refusing the latter means o" fortfyiny of giving him a discretionary power to abandon the position ; of paroling
 ebel prisoners, who were permitted to see ms camp and were then sent to the enemYs heao- quarters as if to report our weakness. mat the opportunity imptoved is evident from the return of Lieutenant Rouse, who had been paroed, at the head of his men, next day into Harper 2
 Ferry,
 4tb Through Colonel Miles, censure Is ad
 minist.reL to Major General Wool for placing
 the former in conltaand 0t such an important
 ros;,ioD. To this extent General Wool ii
 !: pronounce:i guilty ofa grave disaster, and should be cenSured for hs conduct"
 5th eneral Mcclellan comes in for hil share of blame in that he matched only sil
 miles pcr day on an average when in pursuit O the enemy through Western Maryland; and ir , that he failed to relieve and protect Harperi Ferry in time Had the. place held out only onl /; d.y longer though at th loss of thousand mel 7 h. enemy might fiaa'ly have been driven on ! end the arriva:: of rcinio cements which save } Lee at Antietam might have been prevented
 Had the garrison been slower to surrendel or the army of the Potomac Lbeen] swilfer t. I march, the enemy would have been forced t rlise the siege, or would have been taken in d tail with the Potomac dividing his furces."