Holmes County farmer. [volume] (Millersburg, Ohio) 1857-1926, 1862-12-04
Results OF General UaIIeck' s
strategy.

Il WAsnlNGToN. November 18th.
When the history of this Administra-
ton comes to be written (and it will be
written it will be seen that there have
been two periods when the war was par
ticularly mismanagcd One was when
Mr.. Lincoln undertook to manage it him
self, commencing by the proclamation of
silly and bombastc "War Orders. -
The other has been during the whole of
the last four months under the manage.
ment of the present General in Chief
During the first period, the country wit.
messed the brilliant episode of the PENN
sular campaign; campaign. the fruits Of
which were snatched away by the wretch.
ed imbeci.ity and irrcsolution which con-
trolcd the army at Washington. just at
the moment when they were within Nc
Clellan's grasp.
Gen. Hallcck's management Of the
army could not be worse than that, but it
is nearly as bad. BY sending Pope to
take Richmond, by route by which his
military education ought to have taught
him is impracticablc, he was the primary
cause of the defeat of Popc's army, and
of placing the capital in that imminent
peril from which Mcclellan alone extri-
Gated it. If, instead of doing this, he had
sent Pope's army to reinforce Mcclellan,
the rebels would not have dared to send a
single regiment towards Washington,
while Mcclellan would have taken Rich
mond and ended the war. When the full
history Of this war is written, these facts
will be made manifest.
With the 100000 troops that have
been at his disposal ever since the battle
of Antictam, what has Gen. Halleck
done? Literally nothing. A second
time he had the opportunity of annihila-
ting the whole rebel army and ending the
war; and second time he permitted the
opportunity to slip from him. How
Take the map and see
After the battle of Antietam, Lee
marched his army between Harpcr's Fer
andoab, 140 miles from Richmond in a
straight line, but ITO miles from Rich
moud by the roads. There were no troops
of any consequence between him and
Richmond. The brave Sigcl was at Cen
treville. From Centreville, nearly due
West, there runs an excellent road, at
that time and for weeks af erwards in
splendcd order, through Warrcnton
across the Blue Ridge, through Luray.
across ford of the Shenandoah, to New
Market, 60 miles from Centrevlle. Adj
hitting that Gen. Nee lei an had 200 900
troops. what was there to prevent Gen.
Halleck from sending another 100, 900,
out of the SOC, 900 by this route, scarcely
four days march? Positively nothing.
Between this force on the South and Nc
Clellan's army on the North, Lee would
have been ground to powder as surely
as the grain is ground between the upper
and the neither milestone. Then indeed
Lee could not have escaped to Richmond.
But Gen. lIalleck could not see this
lie waited till October. BY that time
! Lee had built his three roads to Richmond,
had opened his communications and lines
OF retreat, and was ready to fight McClel-
Ian, or to run, as lie deemed most expe-
dicnt. Then, early in October, Halleck
ordered Mcclellan to advance on Lee and
fight him. (Remembcr that Mcclellan
had lost Is, 900 of his best troops at An
tietam and South Mountain, and that he
had been necessarily calling both for re-
| Inducements, and for shoes for his desti-
tute soldiers. And remember that Gen
Grillin's division is STILL without these
articles, in this bitter cold weather,) lie
KNEW, for he had discernmcnt, that no
General could FORCE Lee 10 fight. When
the advance took place, Lee did exactly
what any General that knew his business
would have done. He manocGvcrcd his
army in such way as to draw his enemy
as far as possible from his base, and as
near to own as possible. have shown
that it had been in Gen. Ilalleck's pow
er to have prevented him from doing So
Well, what has he done with his 500,-
600 troops, admitting now that Burnside
has 250. 900 Mitchell failed at Savan,
nah--for want of troops. Foster has Just
now made big failure in North Carroll
na--lor want Of troops. Buell. conduc-
ted tho campaign in Kentucky in spite
of the sneers of his enemies. llo drove
Bragg's army out OF the State, and would
have sent strong column around his
flank to intercept him long before he
reached the Cumberland Gap, but-for
want Of troops. Knoxville, where the
: rebels are turning out cannon and shell
in vast quantities, might have been in our
possession months ago, but-ior want of
troops.
Where are the troops? Where have
they been sent to, and what are they do
E ing? Above ALL what have they done ?
c THEY eriSt. Be sure of that When
Gen, lIallcck was placed in command,
there were 600, 900 men on the rolls, but,
of these, only 100000 were elective
0 There are now on the rolls 700, 1000 Of
= fectivcs, all drawing their pay. Where
. are they, and what are they doing? The
i secret can DO told in word. They are
7 scattered and hittered away Just where
i there is no need for them, and there has
+ been no concentration for great purposes
! Gen, llaleck may understand the art ol
l war, but the results of his campaigns,
D compared with the enormous means at his
| disposal, do not indicate that fact. Y.
# Tkc Electoral Vote.