, 1862-05-30
TIE RETREAT OF GEN. BANKS.
WHAT'S Thought Tn Washington.


Correspondence Of the New York Timcs.1
WASHINGTON, May rs, 1859.
The repulse Of Gen. Banks from the She
nandoah Valley excited the greatest surprise,
because the country Was kept 80 Ignorant Of
his force. 1t turns out that instead Of having
q corps G'a4nee and large force As You state
in Sundays 1ns<s, and - the country gener.
brigade LETT to him when he WIS attacked by the
enemy. Banks repeatedly aud earnestly pro-
tested against being stripped Of his command;
and many Of his friends ndFisea him to resign,
but this he braVeIy refused to do. There Is
felt to be heavy responsibility on somebody
in this matter, and IT is not just to put 1t all
on Secretary Stanton. The President mag
unanimously takes the responsibility, ;" but It
is well known be only "permitted to be done
that which his OWL Judgment dfsapproved
The enenys raid is ct an end, and has tallen
far short Of his expectations, and the country
may Jet haEe reason to rejoice in what has oc-
CURED, it it shall result, as every one hopes,
in the Presidents throwing Oft the dangerous
counsels he sometimes yields to, and trusts
more to his own clear head and honest heart.
! The events Of the two past days haVe VOL
derhly stimulated our Government, and there
is now -" movement along the whole line"
DTesa parades ct Frelerlckshurgh, 1t is sup.
I0sed, Will cease, and cabinet visits to that
point be suspended till the war is over. On
the whole, the martial aspect Of affairs is more
| son thnn before.
There is universal sympathy felt and express
ed here for Gen Banks, and the hope Of all is
| that be may be furnished an army suitable to
| his rank, ard allowed to BECOME his OWL aTen-
ger It Is not believed that his loss is serious,
except in Kenls's giment, the first attacked !;
aud the fact that he Tetreated so far in the face
| of an enemy SO overwhelming, and crossed his
| men in good order and good spirits, is taken
as Proof Of the highest generalshlp. No other
course could have kept Jackson from crossing
| into MARYLAND.
The dispatch this morning received from
Gen. Banks, dated ut Williamsport, Md, and
| announcing the belief that his whole force,
trains and all, would cross the Potomac IN
safety, was hailed with the llvelieet satistac,
tiop. The dispatch from the Secretary ol
| Var, which Gen. Banks rrfers to as having
read to his troops amid the lyelies'
cheers, is understood to have contained the
t. anks Of the President and Secretary for hi.
excellent conduct OF the retreat. High mill
tary authority proEounccs 1t one Of the mos
masterly movements Of the war, aud regufa
officers here, who have been slow to acknow1
edge the gencralshlp Of Gen. Banks, now &C
l. ccrd to him great tact and ability as com
mander. The fact that at Winchester, with
small force Of less than five thousand men, Ii
BtnbboInly he'd bis gronnd and resisted th
terwaIds retreated 10 order, ia taken as eE:
; dence Of superior genera1ship.
| The steps to regain the lost ground would
Unknown to the public, establish the vigflanc
. OF the President; but for prudent reason
they must not be developed at this time.
is enough to say thst they are considered 8
sufficient to insure not only the safety Of th
capital, but also to prevent the further 81
vance Of the enemy in the direction Of the p
, tomac, and probably to insure the captur
, bag and baggage, ofJaekson's entire fore
Should the well devised plans bo carried on
Is there is every reason to suppose they vi
t be, what yesterday seemed serious disast
decided and important triumph over II
enemy.
? Gen. Fremont Is ROW on the verge Of Il
J. Valley, and in the rear Of jackson, and ne II
i. doubtless soon have glorious aiterpiece
the inauspScious drama just closed