Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-04-09

order Sss hsu 4 iufAhe entire command Of Gen.
Burnside TO prepare thres days cooked ratioDs to
have their wagons filed with ten days small ra-
tons, if possible to have from ten to twelve days
supply OF beef cattle with them to take forage
for their teams and their artillery aud cavalry
horses, and the requisite amount of smmuni ion
10 fact, TO be 10 condition to move az twelve
hours notice. Shortly after that order issued
Gen. John Newton and Gen. John Cochrane came
up to Washington on leave Of absence. Previous
to obtaining leave of absence from Gen Franklin,
they Informed him and Gen. William f. Smith
that when they came to Washington they should
take the opportunity to represent to some one in
authority here the dispirited condition Of the army
and the danger there was in attempting any more
meat against the enemy at that time. OF the par
ticular movement planned by Gen. Burnside they
had no knowledge. While in the city they sought
and obtained an interview with the President, and
the purport and results of that interview are de-
scribed by the committee as follows:
Gen Newton opened the subject to the President
At st the President, Gen. Newton xpr-, IT, very
au ally conceived that they had there for the pur-
pose OF jnring Gen Blu nsde, and suggesting 9th
per,"n 10 fill his place Gen. n wnn states hat, Will
he firmly believed that the principal Of disprted
hdon ut the amy The want Of confidence ia ih-
mill ary capnc ty Of Gen Burnside he durmrd il inprn-
per to ray to the President right square out and
therefore endeavored to convey the indirectly
Whrn asked II considered mprOp do such
thing indirectly than it to do it directly he qualified
his previous ASSERTION by saying that his object in
form tn. President Of What he considered to be the
dOn of bearmy in the hope that The President would make
inquiry and earn the true for himself Upon per
cevng the mind he President, Gems
Newton and Cocnrane state tht they FASTENED to
af ha ftre
eseded that at the close c the intruieo The President said
to them he 81 they had called upon him and that he
hoped that good ipOuid resnlt from the irterplu.
To return to Gen. Burnside. Tue cavalry expedition
had START the brgsd- # Infantry de allied to accompany
hal crossed the Rappahannock Richards Ford, and
urnrd BY way 81 Elss Ford leaving the way clear for
the cavalry to at K-lys Ford The day they had
arranged To- make the crossing General Burnside received
from the President the following tesrarn: Ihrpe good
reason for saying that you must not make general
nent Without letting me kn0p of IL
Gen Burnside tat that he could not imagine at the
time, what reason the Pr, sident cud have ding
him such telegram None OF the officers h cruma ami
except two of his saf who had RENAL led camp
had been told any thing of his plan beyond The simple fact
that ment 10 be made. He could only suppose
that the despa ch related in way to important mill
ary movements other parts of the country Id which
was &c. ssary to have O. peratiol.
Upon the receipt Of thu telegram steps mme-
diateb ktn IT, bait he c,vary exp dnn where then
WAS (a Kelys Ford until furth-r orders ,rtiu OF
it was hnrty aft rwards srnt off intercept Stuart no
had just made raid to mfies AID the nrghborhood of
fairIhx Court-DoUse, winch 1t fuled TO do. ,
Gen Burnside came 10 Wa hing to ascertain from
the Prrsdent the true state Of the H. was iuormed
by the Preside mt thnt General officers rom the army
OF the Potomac ohose names lie declined grs had call
upon him and represented that Gen. Burnside cohtem-
plated soon making movement, and that tn army
Dip red and democrat zed that any att. mps make a
movement a. that lime NUT ult Disaster that no
pr'mln.ut officers la the army of the Potomac in
favor II ny ment at that time.
"Gen Burnside informed the President that none of his
Off "ers ad been o,med what b plan was and then
IN I'M a
UPON the Pr-r,-nt t. grant him permission carry II
N, but the President declined 10 d, tina time Gen
si" OK and secttt-ry ss"ton were sent for, and hen
learned for The first time, IF The Presidents action m stop
ping the increment ah' IN Gen Halle was prevmu l.
aware that ov.meut was cont. mplated BY Gen Burn
side. Gen. Hslleck, with Gen. Burnside. held that he
0ceis who hnd made those repre- to the Pfe
| dent ,houlf be at once Dismissed the .eryca.
Gen BnnNde rrmsiuei here 1T thst tins FIR two
days but no conclusion reached on III, subject
When he r.ur ed TO his cmp be EARNED that The
deais 81 hr general rsmn AID the details of the GAG
airy expedition had become knoacn tn rebel
in Washington, thereby rendeunq thai Plan
Wtel asked to VIII IN ne had cmmun Gated his plans he
stated that he had told one in Washington ereept the
Prsident, SerstaV 81 non and Gen. HoLLeek; and in
hi. camp none knew Of IL except one or two OF his staff
ocers icho had remained IN camp all the time He pro-
essed himself unab to tell how his plans had become
Known to the enemy"
Let us rcc.pi ulate the facts set forth in this
narrative: Two officers, in performing service for
which they deserved, in the judgment of Gen. Burn
side aud Gen Halleck, to be at once dismissed from
the army, succeed in far winning the ear of the
President that /" he said to them he was glad they
had called upon him, and that he hoped good
would result from the interview" The actual re-
suit of the interview was an order of the President
suspending the operations of Gen. Burnside, be-
cause, as he said, "he had good reason" for de-
mandirg such suspension, abiding to the repre-
sensations con6denually made by Gems. Cechrape
and Newlon, and which, whatever may have been the
informality of their Communication, were accepted
BY the President as furnishing "good reasons" for
holding Gen. Burnside in check. That is, the
President adopted their reasons as his own, and
thus threw the heads of the officers making
these statements the protecting shield of the Com
mandor-in-Chief. To have afterwards punished
them for making communications on which he had
acted would have been, of course, to stultify him
self and wrong the officers with whom he had made
himself partictps eriminis if any crime had been
committed.
But the matter did not end here. The commit
tee report that Gen. Burnside repaired to Wash.
ington and proceeded to explain to the President
the details of the plan. The President, still under
the influence of the representations confdentally
made by the officers whose names he declined to