New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1862-12-25
THE ATTEMPT TO LIE DOWN THE
GOVERNMENT,

the Rebel Grand Army on the Rappabannock
was made by Gen. Burnside on the 18th inst.
1t miscarried. Could it have been made day
earlier, it must have succeeded. But the pre-
lparaton to cross and crossing consumed so
much time that the Rebels had time to concen-
trate in our front the forces watching for like
attempts at other points on the river (including
that at which Gen. Burnside had intended to
cross and had 20 notified his superors), so
the columns of attack were repulsed with
heavy loss. But, though we lost considerably
more men than the Rebels, We lost nothing
else. Not gun, not flag, not cais'on, can
they boast os trophies of the desperate fight;
only the clothing they tore from our dead SOL
dicrs in front of their defenses--( soldiers whom
they had the inconceivable baseness to strip,
and then require us TO bury)--rcnain in their
hands 10 tell of their advantage There was
no victory; for our brave army held the ground
Whereof they had fought for thirty.six
hours after the battle ceased and, though this
was directly under the cOncentric fire Of the
bigb-placed Reis,l batteries, they did not lee TT
to provoke another fight by opening upOa US.
Gen. Burnside fully inteLded to renew the at
tack next morning, and Gen. Lee fully expected
he would, but our Generals OF Division thought
the superiority of the Relel position too great,
abd Gen. Burnside, on their advice, desisied.
Our Army waited day and two nights for a
Rebel demonstration, and tlsn recros7ed the
river with all their material ana without elicit
ing The compliment Of shot irSln the Babel
batteries commanding their position Tat !
Army, on equal ground, would is'e smashed
any Relel force ever concentrated, and would |
like a chance to do that thing to-mosfow. Bat
it will have to advance TO find the Enemy. and 4
to fight under great disadvantages in order 10
get chance TO fight at oil.
But tho use made Of that battle BY the
Opposition Press remains as lesson and
warning. We have already shown that TIE
FORD at once shouted that the crossing at
FredeiicAsburg had been made "ty Cen.
Hqileck's ordsrs"-that Gen. Burnside " acted
under strioi orlers"-taat "hs orders ,cc-r
ysremyiorp," &C., &c. That journal and it,
kindred charged President Lincoln, secretary
Stanton, and Gen. HaiiecA by name with.
having +" sent 10 death thousands on thousands
o. our brothers and frends," by their unwar-
rantable, imperious dcsatcn 10 Gen. Burnside
of the time aud place for crossing the Kappa
hannock-tbat he made tho movement. in
opposition to the advice of all his disision
commanders, uader the compassion Of orders
from Washington. Sad The boriI:
Ella the foe Of tho cable wan which the enemy
thle accomplish b. Of ;fsi failure IN the arrival
Of the pousoon Bu,asid 'e,s,d hos, made attack
e. he did had Ia MOI. in 'piie j Pa 7ro.ng 9rsifr
been oyde,el % that end ssr tifs h>t., hsa
ala ls,e byhs Ua,i gfaa Tn, il he true record
We might quote columns Ike thu from The
Worl@, in addition TO wha: we hare already
prlntel-al Of IL not only calculated, bat
ayowedIy intended. to destroy oil confidence in
The Administration and raise ono mad, frenzied
CRY for revolutionary oyerturn as our only
refuge from despair aud ruin.
Now see how Tie Erpyess inaorsed aud
seconded The Boria's calumuiOus, traitorous
faseboOds:
It seems now conceded tina, Mr Lincoln ard Gen Hai.
eck were the ss. who sent thousands Of from
tue uto eternity by tBmbng them tbs R,ppahslncck
into the ii, cflhe FTedsiicA'burs valley
Gen Barusds oush, have risEsd imprisonment or
rs,r than thus tuibe bis great army into thai
pr off, leser. MI Cen Lees sros army in the boxes
suli o. .s,i.leryp [I-sp,osr Of Dec 10.
"E. B." writes from Warrington in that
same Issue that
There l. strong evidence IN the ctr thu. ,s tstl, At sud
1ssY Fredsc burg jofg by he Prs'den II '' Tinted
tafs cnd ~ G H. Hocck be latter especially agaiaN TIE
peuea, and The rssoa,raase e Cen Bg,aside and i Gen
,f o. end poses o. o.hr oicefs associated with them IN
the Command q the array. These given Gad
Tho fat. can al BE- fa.uished Congress- inquiry il
Gersl," &C., &c.
We might fill our columns with similar CT
tntions from tho columns Of the two Journals
already noned, and from thoss Of The H>rald' |
.IOy,iei Of Commerce, ABqny Argus, &C., &c.
And the moral was everywhere sharply en-
forced" The President is az IDIOT; the Ad-
mini, tratoa is hopeless failure; our brave
soldiers are useessly slaughtered; there must
he m oyertgrn of the Government that VIII
drive ont ali Radical, all fanatics ali sup
porter. Of Tie policy Of fighting Slavery by
Liberty, or he country must 60 TO perditi"n."
Now tbst Gov. Burnside and his su5ordlnutes
have utterly exploded this whole fabric OF lies
have shoso that they were lowise hurried into
crossing the OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES the crossing
nj Fredericksburg, so far from having been
dct.,el from Washington was not even autc.-
palel therc--that Gen. Burnside, IN an his
oncratiops on .Aat river was left entirely TO BIS
own Judgment, his superiors expressing no
anxiety, no preference, further than that nc should
.o,ne how and al some time ndyance-ho" do
the detected aud pliloried deceiyers and swindler'
-. ,ho a,nos,,re az their crime, What eX-