Daily national Republican., 1862-11-14
po..,bn,,y or . winter c.mp.,sn..

/ FOsshpthlty Oh y winner Sn"pSskns
| Now that the inactive commander oft arm,
of the Potomac has been displaced and vigor
Gus prosecution of the war decreed, It become,
aquestion of great interest how much the army
will be able to accomplish before Its operations
are stopped by bad weather. and impassabl,
roads. II will not do, of course, to judge by
the results of General McClellan's campaign o.
last winter, when his forces lay idle for month";
on the Potomac while the weather was mos,
favorable for fighting, and the roads In excel
| lent condition. In the month of November
| there were mere obstacles to a movement than
there were In December. During the latter
month the weather much Of the time was clear
and the frozen roads hard and smooth.
The battle Of Balls Bluff, which resulted In
the death Of Colonel Baker and loss of over
eight hundred men, was fought on the 21st day
of October. After that disgraceful affair, no
movement worthy Of mention was made or at.
tempted by the army of the Potomac, except
perhaps, in two cases. But both of these In.
stances show what might have been done had
the General, as Mrs. Chick would have urged
him to do, made an effort. General Mccall
sent General Ord'sbrigade on a reconnaissance,
which resulted In handsome battle and VIC
tory at Drainesville, that reflected much credit
on the discipline of our troops, although II was
not followed up. General Lander also made a
vigorous dash against the enemy, and was
complimented by the Secretary Of War, who
justly observed, In his dispatch, that this move
ment showed what might be done by an ener-
getic commander In spite Of bad weather.
Both OF these movements were made In the
wlnter-in the very heart of the season sup
posed to he least favorable to military opera
tions; and, notwithstanding the general inac-
tlvity of the Army Of the Potomac, showed
conclusively that operations were not impracti-
cable.
The movements of General Burnside in North
a,,I all L.,
ments of the army In the West, were under
taken and carried out in the winter. In the
list of brilliant victories won by hard fighting
in the winter, stand Roanoke, Min Springs, in
which General Zolicoffer was killed and the
rebel forces completely routed; Fort Henry, won
by bombined attack Of the gunboats and q
land force; and, greatest of all, Fort Donelson,
the capture of which caused a thrill of Joy in
every loyal heart. Who doubts that Richmond
might have been added to the list had the gen.
eral only said, Forward ~ The army of the
West made a march of forty miles In twenty
eight hours, when the roads were In the worst
possible condition. The battle Of Pea Ridge,
In which General Sigel made such splendid
fight around his baggage train, defeating two
thousand cavalry with his eight hundred infan-
try, was fought in the winter,
Returning to the movements of General Nc
Clelian, we hnd-that the Peninsula campaign
was entered upon in March, and that his ope-
rations before Yorktown in the month of April
were carried on when the roads were as bad as
bad weather could make them. The soil of
Virginia Is of such a formation that a rain
storm converts every field and road into mud
hole in an incredibly short space of time, wheth-
er 1t be winter, spring Or summer The siege
guns and supplies for the army before York.
town were taken over roads which no weather
could have made worse, and had Gen. McClel-
Ian undertake the siege in January or February
he would not have encountered greater obsta.
ces from this source.
At the battle of Fair Oaks, too, which was
fought on the 3lst of May and the 1st of June,
the roads were rendered SO impossible by mud
that the enemy was unable to bring up his ar
tillery, and his impetuous attack was, from ne.
cessty, made with infantry alone. The pieces
which he subsequently used were those which
he took from our army.
On the last day of Gen. McClellan's cclebra.
ted retreat from Richmond to the James river
| Wednesday, July 9, IL rained all day, and the
mud surpassed description. 1t could not have
been deeper under any storm Of winter and the
| immense baggage and artillery trains were
dragged over the roads with the greatest di III
Guilty.
So bad were the roads, aud so miry the fields
that the army was completely broken up. Di
visions lost their corps, brigades their divisions
regiments their brigades, companies their regi
ments, men their companies there was scarce
an officer who could point to a command. This
confusion resulted In part from the hunger and
fatigue of the troops, but principally from the
mud, which blockaded the roads with baggage
wagons, guns and caissons, and rendered hur.
ried march In good order. such as the army was
required to perform, a physical impossibiity.-
" Y. Ere. Post