The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1862-08-21

papers that you have advanced. Do not let tn,
enemy amuse and delay you with small force il
front, while he reinforces the Junction with hi
main body. McDowelps first days work ha
driven the enemy beyond Fairfax Court House
The Junction will probably be carried tomorrow
WINFIELD SCOTT.
| Had these orders been Obeyed
Johnston could never have joined
l'eauregard had Johnston not joined
Beauregard, the battle of Bull Run
would have been but a skirmlsh be-
tween forces greatly unequal, and the
army of the South would have beer
destroyed. The failure, therefore, o
Patterson to hold Johnston was the
primal cause of the inglorious defeat
Why did not Patterson obey orders +?
Befnre the battle was fought, Gener
al Scott telegraphed to General Patter
son
WAsHHeros, July Is, 1851
Major General Patterson, &c:
have certainly been expecting you to beat the
| enemy. If not, to hear that you had felt him
| strongly, or ut least had occupied him by threats
and demonstraiions You have been at least his
equal, and i suppose superior, in number. Has he
not stolen a march and sent reinfOrcements toward
Manassas Junction? A week is enough to win q
victory
WINFIELD SCOTT.
Patterson had turned off from Bunker
Hill, where he was threatening John
ston, to Charlestown, on the l7th OF
July. Upon the receipt of the above
telegram, he replied as follows:
CHARLEsrowS, July IS, 1861
Colonel E. 7. TOWNSEND. A. A. e.. &c:
Telegram of to-day received. The enemy has
| stolen no march upon me. have kept him active
ly employed and by threats and reconnoisances in
force caused him to be reinforced. have accom-
chief asked or could well be expected, in face of
| an enemy far superior numbers, with no line of
communication to protect.
General Scott says, in relation to this
matter:
General Patterson was never ordered
by me as he seems to ailege, to attack
the enemy without a probability of sue
cess but ON several occasions he wrote
IA if he were assured of victory.
For example, June IL, he says he is
g resolved To conquer, and will risk
nothing" and July 4, 4,-xpecting supplies
the next day, he adds: as soon as they
"arrive, shall advance to Winchester
tn drive the enemy from that place"
Accordingly, he issued orders for the
movement on the 9Th, next called q
council of war, and stood fast at Mar.
tinshurg.
"But although General Patterson was
never specifically orlrrd to attack the
enemy, he was certainly told and ex.
pected, even with inferior Numbers to
hold the rebel army in his front on the
alert, and to prevent it from reinforcing
Manassas Junction, by threatening
man9uvers and demonstrations re-
suits often obtained in war with half
numbers.
"After a time General Patterson
moved upon Bunker Hill, and then fell
off from CharlpstOwn, whence he seems
to have made no other demonstration
that did not look like retrat out of
Virginia. From that moment Jackson
was at liberty to join Branrt gard with
any part of the army of Winchester. !"
The reason assigned by Patterson
and his staff was that Johnston had re
ceived large reinf"rcements, and great
ly "utnumbered him in men and guns.
General Patterson testi6es:
"Th- immense superiority Of the enc.
my at Winchester in men and guns, as
well as in position, was well known.
The information was obtained from
Union men who had been there, from
prisoners, desertprs, and from various
sources. all agreeing on an average of
forty thousand men and over sixty
guns"
Colonel Price says:
"IIe General Patterson,) got positive
reformation at Bunker Hill that Johston
had forty two thousand men at Win.
chester. aud, l think, sixty.three pieces
of artillery"
Colonel Biddle says:
Every body represented the force
of General Johnston as from thirty to
forty thousand.
That is tha testimony of Patterson
and his staff The facts were that
johnston had received no reinforce.
ments except undisciplined, unorgan.
lied militia from the surrounding
country, and held an effective force less
than that of Patterson.
Na,h aniel F. Palmer, (prisoner at
Winchester,) says:
1--WE concluded that by the 18th
(Jnly there was hut very little over
thirteen thousand men there.
Or. ira Tripp (pris"ner a, Wiarines.
ter.) says that there were about twelve
thousand men of the enemy at Winches-
ter on the 18th Of July.
Alfred Spates, president of,he Ches-
aprake and Ohio canal, says:
"'rhe general impression in that
vicinity was. that Johnston's armv was
between eight aud ten thousand men. ]
never heard any men put it niger than
ten thnnsand men," E
A. r. Stnke general superintendent
of the Chesapeake aud Ohio canal
says:
81 know that it was the impression
throughout the community, and in the
army, that there were not more than
ten thousand men under Johnston and
there is this additiona, fart ascertainetl'
since, from perfectly reliable gentlemen,
that there never was at any time in
Winchester as many as fourteen thous-
and men, and of these there were per
haps four or five thousand militia, badly
armed and equipped"
Cnlonel David B. Birney. thirty