The Jeffersonian Democrat. [volume] (Chardon, Ohio) 1854-1865, 1862-09-19
How a Small Army Beat Large One

tu l'Oo, NhpOleOU ulueO Win mOreau at
Goier's, one Of the directors. Conscious of
his own superiority, aud solicitous to gain
the powerful cooperation of Moreau, he
made the first advances, and with great
! courtesy expressed The great desire he felt
to mako bis acquaintance. fSee Abbotts
History of Napoleon, vol. l, page $50
You have returned victorious from
Egypt" replied Moieau, "and from Italy
after a great defeat. II was the month
which Gen. Loubert passed in Paris, after
his marriage, which caused our disasters.
This gave the allies tme to reduce Mautsa,
and to bring up the force that besieged it to
take part in the action. 1t is always the
greater number which defeats the less"
True" rejoined Napoleon, at is always
the greater number which beats the loss"
Aud yet" said Goier, "with small Rr.
mics you have frequently defeated large
oDes.."
Even there" rcjoined Napoleon, 'it was
always the inferior force which was defeated
by the superior. When, with small body
of men l was in tho presence of q large one,
collecting my little band, fell like light.
ming, on the wings of tho hostile army, and
defeated it. Profiting by the disorder which
such an event rever failed to occasion in
their whole line, repeated the attack, with
similar success, in another quarter, still with
my whole forco. thus beat it in detail.
The general victory, which was the result,
was still an example of the truth of the
principle that the greater force defeats the
losser."
This lesson was thundered into the ears
of the astonshed world for twenty years BY
Napoleon, and with practical results, suf-
ficient, one would think, for pll time !; yet
soma OF our generals who make books upon
war seem never to have heard it. "Stone.
WALL Jackson understands it, and thus
manages to delude our slow tacticians with
the notion OF his superior force.
After Austerlitz, the Emperor Alexander
said to the French envoy, Savary:
THAT day will take nothing from the
reputation which your master has earned
in so many battles. 1t was my first en-
gagement. confess that the rapidity of
his maneuvres never gave me time to sue
cor the meDaced points. Everywhere you
were at least double the number OF our
forces"
"sire." "Savary replied, "our force was
twenty-five thousand less than yours. And
even at that, the whole was very warmly
engaged. But we maneuvred much, and
The same disvsion combatted at many diff.
1t is surprising, after the lessons of Ma
poleon's wars, to hear the debates, or rather
disputes, respecting the operations of our
army of the Potomac, and the prowess of
it's general. The operations of that army
are reproduction of the Austrian tactics
in Italy, when Besulieu with q splendidly
appointed army of eighty thousand men,
was driven out by Napoleon with ragged
and destitute army of thirty thousand. The
bulletins of both sides in those wars, and in
our present war, are before US. Every in
telligent reader has as fair an opportunity
to judge OF the present, thus far, al of the
past, and it soems to mo Impossible to es-
cape the conclusion that our POtoTac army
has had nothing but the stupidest kind OF
Austrian banding from the beginning.
We arc untrue 10 our country, and to our
holy cause, in ondeayoring to covcr up the
delinq quencies of our generals. lt is necos'
sary that they should be known, and that
the energy of our public opinion should be
brought TO bear upon the movement, as it
was in France, until We have in tho army
the right men in the right places. With such
a magnificent army, and such vast expendi- |
lures we had right TO victory.
And now the battle o. Cedar Mountain,
opening the campaign of the now army of
Virginia, is another example of brainless
tactics. Our right, under Generals Crawford
and Gordon, was outnumbered, in spite of
our superior force, outflanked and defeated,
on the Napoleon system, and the Aassa-
chusetts Second regiment witilessly and
neodiessly cut up; and vet the disaster is
claimed BY our generals as victory. 1t is
imparing public confidence in the capable
officers of the army to deny fact so pat
ent as this defeat. We have a splendid ar
my in Virg mia, but it needs more truth and
moro brains among its leaders.
Herald.