Cleveland morning leader. [volume] (Cleveland [Ohio]) 1854-1865, 1862-11-20
From the Army at Harper's Ferry.
Correspondents OF the Cleveland Leader.l

I
except the removal of McClellan-and the
stir regarding this was only mOmentary.
Twas greatly surprised to see the little
concern that officers and men manifested
at the event, for 1 confess that I had fall
en- into the belief that the Army Of the
Potomac had lost all its love Of country in
the alteration for its impOtent leader.
find, however, but few who are net salts
fed with the change, and the majority Of
those few are the shoulded-strapped pOpin-
Jaws who constitute Stats; men who gen
orally have neither the courage nor mill
tary capacity to lead men into battle, and
are disposed of by being made the defend
ers Of a General. These fellows are the
'ssuckors" of an army, for whose presence
the Government is daily bled of thousands
of dollars, without the possibility of q re-
turn, and their opinions are not to be re-
garded as an expression of the sentiments
of the working portion of the army. One
fact is gratifying, and that is, that howeV-
er bitter the worshipers Of Mcclellan are
upon the Administration for removing
him, they are compelled to admit that he
has been superseded by man who has
not yet made failure, and to whose gal
! lantry we owe whatever Of success can be
| tortured out of the battle ofAntietam and
to concede that as 8 successor to their idol,
| the President has shown wisdom in plac-
| ing him in the command.
1t is pretty definitely settled, l am in
formed, that the corps now here will remain
during the winter, or if it moves at all,
will not probably go farther than Winches-
ter. Though one Of the smallest, it will,
if it remains here till spring. be one Of the
very best in point Of discipline in the SER
vice, containing as it does, some of the
best material in the Army Of the Potomac.
General Geary is spoken of by those whose
experience gives them the right to Judge,
as one Of the most judieious business and
indefatigable working officers in the army,
and much credit is given him for the work
he has always performed since he took his
division, while much remains to be done,
several new regiments having recently
been assigned to his command.
Fault-fnding is so common in this army
as generally not to entitle it to notice, but
l cannot forbear to mention matter which
has caused much complaint in the LIST brig
ade of Geary's division, and cannot but
think very justly. Three-fourths of the
brigade is composed Of Ohio troops, every
regiment Of whom have been through the
most arduous campaigns that any portion
of the army Of the east has experienced,
and had its numbers reduced and ranks
decimated on many sanguinRry fields. The
commanders Of these regiments have all
shown themselves eminently qualified for
their posts, and in no single instance have
they failed to discharge whatever duties
have been devolved upon them, and the
record Of the Ohio regiments in this army
vii bear me testimony that they have not
had to bear the lightest Of the burdens Of
military life. All these facts combined
to justify the hope and belief that the rank
ing Colonel Of the Ohio regiments would
be made the commander of the brigade in
which they constituted so large part
When, however, General Slocum became
commander Of the corps, what was their
surprise and chagrin to learn that Colonel |
Ruger, of the Sd Wisconsin regiment, be- |
longing to the first division, and q West |
Pointer, had been assigned to their COM |
mand-frUm another division, to command |
men who knew nothing Of him, and officers |
who had for eighteen months braYed the |
rigors and hardships Of the most terrible |
campaigns this war has known, faced /
death both in disease and on the battle |
field, and by their deeds Of Valor and pstri- |
otic devotion to duty built for themselves |
Of imperishable honor; but /
al g.,
though happily for the country, had not /
been pensioners upon the Government at
West Point, and hence had nothing but /
their courage and manhood and patriotism /
upon which to base claim to promotion. |
It is absolutely saddening to see men who /
have sacrificed their comfort and perilled |
their lives for the cause of their country, /
and raised themselves up by the noblest
examples Of courage, forced to yield, just
as they would grasp the reward Of their
toll, to the Government-educated gentle
men who represent that institution called
West Point. And no one not in the camps
Of the volunteer soldiery can conceive what
q crushing effect such an unjust and un-
generous course has upon them, for aside
from its injustice, their experience is that
these men are not unfrequently either
towards or imbeeiles.
From such information as is obtained
from contrabsnds, we conclude there is no
enemy of any consequence between US
and Winchester. The hills commanding
the approaches to the Ferry are being
gradually fortified, and military roads
built over and around them. Most of this
work is performed by stragglers and men
found out of their camps without passes,
who constitute daily force of from five to
liz hundred. The work is in charge of
Captain Fletcher, of the regular army,
Provost Marshal of the corps, who is well
calculated for the duties, and who pre-
erves a degree of discipline among the
lard cases who come under his charge that
s highly creditable to him.
Stringent orders were issued to-day by
Major General Slocum against that class
# sharks who call themselves suffers, but
re not connected with any regiment, and
,rey in the most rascally manner upon
,oor soldiers. By an order from the same
ource, an Examining Board has
,een constituted to inquire into |
he capacity of sueh officers as
Division, Brigade and Regimental
may be disposed to report for
Colonel Ross, Of the 5th
Colonel Candy, Of the 66th '
)hio, and Colonel Ireland of the 18th c
Jew York will constitute the Board. By
n order issued some two weeks since. /
rigade and regimental schools were to be 8
but for some reason or other it s
as not been generally complied with. e
PERSONAL.
Among recent promotions is that Of '
aptain Caleb C. Whitam to be Brigade 7
Of the 1st Brigade. Captain a