Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1862-09-15
Our Great Disaster in virginia.


From ths New York WordI
The rebels could have Afforded TO pay ten mil
lions Of dollars for the results accomplished by
the cavalry raid on General Pops's headquaTt-
ers at Cartletts station, Friday night They
took possession OF our camp, pillagsd and plum
deTed 90 their hearts content, and besides the
lives, money, horses, aud personal effects lost.
General Pope lost the muster rolls Of his army,
all his private papers, copies Of dispatches and
reports, memoranda Of the campaign and the
past and present condition Of the army. comics
OF all the teIegrsms which he had sent to Wash
lDgt0n since taking his present command. all
the dispatches received from the President.
q sneral Hallack, General Mcclellan, General
Burnside, aud the War Department, copies Of all
orders issued to his generals of corps and divi8-
ION, all his maps and typographical charts and
ia short, every record and piece Of Information
which any one could desire TO have who wished
to know, with perfect accuracy and detail, the
past history and future plans of the campaign
the numbers and disposition Of cur troops and
the purposes of the War Department and the
generals.
IF these had sll been destroyed by fire the
loss would have been most serious, and would
have greatly retarded the prosecution of the war.
Captured and possessed BY the enemy, their loss
is iucaleulable. IL the little driblets Of informa.
ton which careless correspondents have suffered
TO leak cut IN their letters was valuable to the
enemy ss to make It wise for General Pope to
exclude them from his lines, and keep the mil
lions 70 whom the lives and deeds of cur soldiers
are precious, in utter ignorance and almost in
sUppoItablc suspense, how valuable to the enc
nay must have been the possession of all the in
formation which General Pope and his staff have
acquired and possess, President Lincoln HIM
81 Il could Row tell jefferson Davis and his gen
erals nothing concerning our army IN Virginia,
which they do not already know. Ihe loss, we
repeat, is incalculs5ie. L uless our force is so
strong that such perfect knowledge of our pur-
poses by the enemy IS no detTiment to their sue
cessful execution, the whole plan Of the cam
paign must be changed II win hardly do 10
say that we are thus strong when the loss met
with occurred during a retreat
This loss is SO stunning and so complete that
the report Of it wOuld hardly be credited did It
come in any doubtful shape.
The cause of this shameful disaster is single
and plain. General Pope's headquarters were
not and never have been guarded. To surprise
was IS easy as TO find them. The rebels knew
the fact. 1t was his headquarters for which
they proclaimed themselves in search They
fouud them, Tsnsaezed them ss they pleased
and went away in safety. There is no doubt
upon this point. 4 correspondent Of the TrijuEe
says:
Probably The whole might have been saved
and the attack repulsed if there had been pickets
or even senhies about the camp. But there has
not been a guard mounted s5 headquarters since
General Pope took the field, piece Of careless
ness for which DC hes paid heavy penalty"
The radon the flank Of our Peninsula army
is not comparable to this
It is for the President to decide what punish
ment is duefor this culpable and most disastrous
negligence. If it be true that The President has
said that General Pope was celebrated for three
thiDgs-gTsst brains, great incidence, and
want Of strict veracitY," the loss Of public con
fdeuce in that generals kilograms viii not bias
bis judgment Unduly. He will be unaffected also
by-pe-haps he is unaware 6f-bis extreme un-
popularity with nearly all his subordinate gene
rails officers and men.
He viii give Just weight to the bad general
ship which Lett The gallant Gen. Banks 10 be de-
feated 1t Cedar MCuu tain, for it is incredible
that he can have been deceived by the telegraTns
with which it was attempted 10 anuse and ap-
pease the public, or that Cen Popes act in re-
turning TO his brigade commanders the lists Of
killed, wounded and missing sent in by them, as
incorrect and exaggerated, can have blinded the
Presidents eyes any more than 1t did theirs to
tie measure Of cur disaster snd the plentiful
lack Of generelsbip which caused il. The Pres
ident knows also how the discipline Of Gen
Pope's army has deteTiorsted since he took the
field. lie knows the causes of this deterioration,
and the country viii confidently hope that these
too win have Just weight in his decision upon
the future command Of the army OF Virginia.