Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1862-11-27
WASHINGTON. November %.


WASHINGTON, November %.
On fbe lsth iu~t-it was announced. with
great flourish 81 uumpets. that " Buruside's army
i al fredericksburg On the 18Th il Was stated
..Geu Furnishes bessqusr,er- will be.fo day IN
Fredericksb ure.@ Now Fredefick-burg il only
sixtv miles from Richmond-only four days
moderate marching The public, therefore. hav-
ing been told that extraordinary vigor was now
going 20 mark the progress Of the campaign.
reasonably expected that, by this time at fartbest
Gen Burnside would be heore Richmond Cred
ulous public. Ia The fnst place. Burnside's army
not. and j. not nov At fredericksburg. Gen.
Summers column has reached Falmouth. oppo-
site Fredericksburg. with the Rsppahsnnock be
tween them, that j. all. And. IN tie second
place. il has been fou,.d and i ackpow ledgei To-
day in the Administrator organs, that the ob
sfaces in the way OF the army are Of such
nature that week, possibly two weeks. must
eIapse before any further advance can be made
Indeed. So that il Is now really found out that
the march to Richmond Is, after all. not to be a
mere gala march OF four dass.r There are. then.
reiils some obstacles 20 efcome' Why really.
this Is all very unexpected. Who would have
thought that these pesky rebels would dare TO
put themselves between Burnside and Richmond
But the pesky rebels have done more than that.
The whole of Burn sides grand army may now
be said TO be for all practical purposes. at Fal
mouth Summers corps s,isrmee srivei first
but the main body. under Hooker, and the corps
d'armee on the left, under Franklin, were close
behind.
We have no troops, then. north Of the point
where the railroad from Manassas crosses the
Rsppahannock. Take the map and see what a
region of country j. left uncovered and unpro-
tected. Gen. Sgel's corps had been left nc Cen
terviIle and the line of Bull Run as IA reserve.
with his outpOsls az Manassas Junction But now
mark what follows
In "A recent letter / stated that if this route to
Richmond was taken, the rebel army would soon
be seen north of the Manassas Gap Railroad
Already the prophecy has been fulfilled. The
rebel leaders had been kept constantly advised OF
Burnsde's movements by their cavalry scouts
Their left VIM, under Jackson, fully $4,000
strong, posted west of the Blue Ridge, hold
ing Manassas Gap. Ashby's Gap and Sucker
Gap. Through either one Of these they can
whenever IL suits their convenience, pour their
troops and march this city. As soon, then. as
they knew that Burrrsde's army had left War.
renton, they sent IA strong detachment of cavalry
through Manassas Gap, with Gen. Stuart in com
mand This cavalry took possession OF Warren
ton the moment it was evacuated by Burnside
They did more than that They pushed on &c
Catletts, burned a railroad bridge there and then
proceeded TO Manassas Junction, Gainesville anC
Centerville rs the time they reached the latter
two places. they were supported by some batteries
of field artillery
Gen Sigel. good soldier as he is. (and he is 4
good soldier and brave and skillfnl officer. wa:
taken completely by surprise by this movement
so sudden and unexpected He was compelled
therefore, To abandon both Gainesville and Cen
trevillc and to fall back upon Fairfax where hs
is now. The enemy, therefore. is row in full pos
session Of Centreville and the line of Bull Run
The value OF the position, in strategic point o
view. j. incalculable Further up the Potomac
on the Virginia side, have IA small force %
cavalry ut LeeSburg Common prudence vii
dictate that they also be drawn in. But whethe
they or not, it is easy TO see that in yer,
short period the whole Of the left wing of Gen
Lees army will have arrived to the support o
those now at Centreville. and that it will be
therefore, between Us and Burnside
What their Interior designs NAV be. no maj
can say. What available force they may have.
do not know. What means We have here OF de
Tending this city. beseems me not to say. TIL.
Administration say they are ample. and il is no
for me to say the reverse. But this do say: Ii
in pursuing the chimera of holiday march {,
Richmond, the Administration has placed IN,
capital in peril, they will have done no more thar
might have been expected. An Administration
which removes our only great General Just whei
want him the most il capable of any folly. Ii
the distribution of the commands of the Army o
the fOtOmac, the ADMINISTRATION nas acted (wltl
single evcepton) as If il DESTROYS to- depriv,
the army of I'LL real military talent. The excep
ton is Gen Sumner, a man every inch soldier
and unquestionaby the ablest General in TN,
army. next TO Mcclellan.
Next i'm merit comes Gen. Heintzelman. And
where is he? Left out in the cold, with small
and unlmportant command on the upper Pot0
mac OF all the other Generals. the one who
throughout the whole war, has exhibited Oh,
gre,tert fitness to command large bodies of men
is unquestionably Fitz John Porter. Where il
hel Dragged from his command. brought here
and made to cool his heels on Willard's marbl,
floor, while his heart is chatting and fretting tC
be with his men, and while personal malice an,
envy are making football of his fame. TIL,
charges against him supremely ridiculous
that the court which tries him will kick them GU
OF doors fate, too. which ought TO be share
by his shameless accusers. To conclude the list
there is Sgel brave man and able General
Yet, be ause he l. German. and because he is
not in good odor with tain parsonage here
he is tre tied with contumely, deprived OF the
honor OF going to the front. and keptin the shad,
OF the Washington forts. and that, too. with Il
command so small that 5000 rebels can driv,
him back
The facts which have come to light within
few days Indicate that the Confederates will de
pend for tie defense of Richmond chiefly upon
the elaborate works on all sides oil that city; anC
that they have on foot an expedition. combining
both land and naval forces destined to operat,
against this city. y.