The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1863-05-09

sufficient to capture the rebel capital. That
they failed to do go is owing to the defective
nature Of the arrangements made by the
military authorities at Washington. Simulta-
neous cooperation was wanting, and the
rebels were allowed TO hold their interior
lines, unless 30 far as the communication was
interrupted by temporary raid. which was
rendered Of no strategic value from 1.-The failure
of other armies to cooperate at the same time;
and while a handful Of rebel troops, magnified
into great army, kept large Union forces at
bay in Southern Virginia Hooker was over
powered by Lee on the Rappahannock with an
immense host. And such is the way the War
Department has blundered in every campaign
from the beginning of the struggle.
Greeley and Raymond Eating the Bitter
Leek.
While the retreat Of the Army of the Potomac
is source Of deep regret to the whole country,
it is difficult to restrain smile at the evident
chagrin of Greeley, Raymond and the radical
faction at the discontinue, not of the army, but
of their favorite General Joe Hooker. After all
their blusterings and braggadocia, their praises
Of Hooker's boldness and brilliant strategy,
their contemptuous references to other and
slower generals, and their predictions that he
would capture or annihilate the whole rebel
army, they are now forced, like Ancient Pistol,
to eat the bitter leek and acknowledge them
selves arrant braggarts and boosters. To them
may be aptly addressed the words Of Fluellen to
Pistol:-'T beseech you heartily scurvy, lousy
knaves, at my desires, and my requests and my
petitions to eat, look you, this leek; because,
look you, you do not love it, nor your affec-
tions, and your appetites, and your digestions
do not agree with it, would desire you to eat
it." And eat it they do, with vengeance, in
yesterdays edition Of their papers
Raymond, the Little Villain, tries to wrigg!e
out Of the affair by saying that we ought to
keep silent about 1t until further developments.
He then proceeds to neglect his own advice by
devOting several columns to the subject We
think his example better than his precept.
Why should we say nothing about Hookers
failure? The result Of battle is az decisive a.
the verdict Of . jnry, aud, the battle being
over, the case is open to comment. On the
whole, Raymond believes that "the great rise
in the river, consequent upon the tremendous
and most unreasonable storm, was, perhaps,
the one fatal cause Of Hooker's defeat Poor
Greeley, on the contrary. makes o scapegoat Of
the Eleventh corps, which he wishes to have
"decimated and disbanded," and says that
General Hooker was doubtless kesnly dis
appointed and greatly Disconnected by the
panic fight Of the Eleventh corps on
Saturday, by which his combinations were
defeated and victory snatched away when it
seemed already within his grasp Apparently
conscious Of the weakness Of this theory, and
anxious to dodge the bitter ieek by some other
device, poor Greeley Continues" II Hooker
made any Craze mistake-and we lack the re-
quisite knowledge, even if we had the strategic
ability to determine ,chether he did or did not
We should say that it was his inaction on Mon
day." But why blame the unreasonable rise OF
the river, or the panic of the Eleventh corps. or
the inaction Of Monday? Why not boldly
admit that Hooker failed because he was out
generalled? If a conservative General stood in
Hooker's boots would Greeley and Raymond
be so excessively mealy-mouthed? Why not
charge Hooker with "imbecilhy" or with
#" treason as they have charged other gene
rails? Are politics and prejudices to be thus
allowed to warp their judgments and stine
their utterancess Is the leek so very bitter and
unpalstable!
General Hooker publicly stated some time
ago that he had ''the finest army on the planet
He took this army across the Rappahannock,
and issued general order in which he de-
clared that ''the enemy must ingloriously fy or
come out from behind their defences and give
us battle on our own ground, where certain
destruction awaits them The enemy did not
"ingloriously 6y." They "cane out" aud gave
Hooker battle ION bis own ground" but the
certain destruction" did not follow, at least on
the rebel side. Now, when former campaign
failed, General Hooker said, under oath, that the
failure was to be attributed to want Of gen.
sraiship on the part Of the commander"
Booker "did not hesitate 10 cay" this; sad Why
should we hesitate 10 say that the want Of gen.
eralship Of the present commander has ooca-
stoned our present defeat. II b astonishing
how very plous Greeley end Raymond
become In order to svoid this sage and insvi-
table conclusion. Poor Greeley announces
that, although prsviously worse than an inndsl,
he q now convinced that "GoD RnoHa" The
Little villsin b equally converted, though In
different sense; for b says that God rains, and
that the rise Of the Rsppahannock was, there
fore, "bexcnd human control" II ID curious
how much more pious and tendsr-heartsd the
Little Villain Is Ia regard to the rise Of the Rap
paAannock than in regard to the rise of the
Chickahominy. By to-norrow or next day both
these fanatcd blundsrers will discover that
Hooker failed because the President did not
issue another Emancipation Proclamation. They