Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1862-08-28
" CE S T f r.:
rnURsDAY. AUGUST es. 1899.

One of our exchanges speaks of 1.-THE nyS-
terious course of Gen Buell. 1t is noticed
that he has neither achieved anything against
the rebels, nor seemed anxious to do So wmie
he has been very assiduOus in protecting reo-
els. and jealous in efforts to destroy any OIL
acer who might do them harm. 1t is not sur
prisins that Gen. Buelrs strange course pro-
yokes criticism. He has under him the pow
erful army that went to Corinth, and there is
in Tennessee plenty Of work for that army
and vet for months he has done nothing and
there is no intimation thath intends to do any
thing An active. capable man at the head OF
that army, with purpose to hurt the rebels
and help the Union, would have rescued the
oppressed loyalists of east Tennessee long
before this, and placed his command in direct
communication with our forces In Virginia.
He has kept his army so quiet that many peo-
pie have almost forgotten its existence, while
his chief business has been aiding and abet-
ting the persecution of the brave Col. Tur-
chin, a man infinitely his superior in charac-
ter, capacity, and military accomplishment.
The most common opinion is that General
Buell. is lazy, dull, over polite to the rebels,
not as much in earnest as he should be, and
animated chiefly by the antipathies, self-eon-
ceit, and superciliousness common to an as
Stunning clique in the regular army who seem
unable to feel even suspicion of their own
incompetence and stupidity;-we mean the
detestible clique who so steadily treat the vol
unteer officers with contempt and assume that
they and they alone know all about military
matters. 1t is plain enough that he is unfit
for his place. and that he should be at once
removed if the talk about a more vigorous
prosecution of the war really means anything.
Instead of allowing him to hold back our
troops from operations against the rebels,
while he assists in driving from their com
mands such active and admirable officers as
Gen. Mitchell and Col. Turchin, let him be
taken out of the way and placed where he
can do no harm.
The present state of affairs in Tennessee
cannot be satisfactory at headquarters, Tor the
government and Gen. Haleck must be as de-
sirous to see the rebels crushed in East Ten
nessee as any of the loyal people of the coun-
try. We hope they will do what is necessary
without regard to anything but the welfare
of the nation. They get all the men
they call for. Let them see to it that our
armies are not made useless by I'M
worthy general officers. In our last war with
Great Britain, we had no success in our mill
tary operations until the predominant clique
of regular army officers was crushed, and
way was made for the volunteers. Some of
the regular army officers have obstructed
rather than helped the operations Of the pres
ent war, by offensive assumptions of superb
GRITTY, by lack of earnestness against the reb
els, and by doing more to put down
volunteer officers than to put down the
rebellion. The influence OF these men
is much weaker now than it was a
year ago; it will be entirely dead be-
fore the war is over. In the war fifty
years ago the superclions Irregular officers
from Hull to Wilkinson, had to be swept out
of the way in order that jackson, Harrison,
Brown, and others might take the work in
hand. In the present war, regulations will
not be determined by the good or evil report
of supercilious pretenders to superiority. as
the men in the conspiracy against Col. TuI-
chin and others are already beginning to dis
cover.