The New York herald., 1863-12-04
Gen. Meade tho Back Track Again
What Does it All Mean:

gnia by General Meade, and his return from
the immediate presence of that army, without a
battle to the north side of the Raodan ap-
pears to us one of the most inexplicable, profit
less and discrcdtable military exploits of the
| War Office since the first battle of Bull run.
| We have every reason to believe that de-
| cisive defeat Of the army Of Lee at this time
would put an end to the rebellion; we know
that the Army of the Potomac was never in a
better condition, physically and morally, for
this important enterprise; we dare say, too,
that, horse, foot and artillery our army is al
most twice the strength of that of the enemy
And yet, when the enemy is brought to bay, and
the long wished for opportunity is offered to
our brave soldiers for the crowning battle Of
the war, instead of the word forward they are
ordered backward, and are now once more on
the north side of the Rapidan. What are the
excuses trumped up for this miserable fasco !?
Here they are:-First the army was advanced
on an allowance Of fifteen days rations, and,
having consumed half Of those rations, it was
compelled to return for fresh supply for fear
of running short. Secondly, when we over
trenched on q marshy brook that it would have
been hazardous business to attack it. In the
third place, newspaper reporters had prema-
turely disclosed the plans of General Meade, or
the War Office. and thus we failed to catch the
rebel army sound asleep.
We are out of patience with these paltry pre-
varications. If the army had consumed its
as al Of az
what was there to prevent the forwarding Of
another supply for seven or eight days? There
was the railroad and there was nothing be-
tween General Meade and Washington, except
Mosby and his fifty or one hundred guerillas,
| to interfere with our transportation. But the
enemy were too strongly posted on the hills
across the swampy brook. Strongly posted
were they, on that short and insignificant
stream Mine run, where they could be aanked
by an hours marching? Humbug. How was
Bragg posted and fortified in front Of Chat
tanOoga? On a semi-circle of precipitious noun
tains-the key to his almost inaccessible posi-
ton being nearly three thousand feet above
the level Of the sea. But you must not forget
that General Meade's--or rather General Hal
|
papers. Bosh We have had enough Of this
nonsense. There was nothing disclosed by the
newspapers in reference to General Meade's
late advance calculated to be of the slightest
value to the enemy; nothing that General Lee
did not know for days before it was published
Ask Mosby.
The simple truth is that no satisfactory OF
| even plausible explanation has been given OF
this mysterious advance and retreat of the
| Army of the Potomac. The advance was en-
tirely too late to be put in as a diversion in
favor Of Burnside at Knoxville, and it was un
necessary as mere reconnaissance. The mos
charitable construction which we can give tc
this movement is that it was intended to fright
en- the rebels at Richmond into something like
the usages of civilized warfare in their treat
ment of our poor soldiers held by them as pri
soners Of war. But we fear that their situation
will only be made worse than it was before by
the inglorious return Of our army from its fruit
less expedition. We can hardly imagine tha
its main object was merely to amuse the coun
try, after the fashion of a tub to whale an,
that the real purpose OF the administration j
rather to prolong than to shorten the war, il
order to make sure work of African slavery.
Whatever may have been the purposes, th
causes and the plans of General Meade's ad
vance, we must now take him we find him
on the north side OF the Rspidan. The que'
ton then recurs what next? Who knows' Ca
the War Office enlghen US: 1t is useless L
conjecture. The War Office will have il tina
there is only one road to Richmond, and tina
having been reported impracticablo for winte
campaigning, the Army Of the Potomac ma
next be recalled for the winter to Arlingto
Heights, in order to take fresh start again, b
way of Bull run, in the spring
The Mexican Question Solving Itself
The wisdom Of the policy pursued by ou
government in regard TO Mexico is daily b
c coming more evident The key to the questio
lay in our putting down the rebellion in our ow
u States, and as we advance nearer to that obje,
!" matters become simplifed beyond the Ri
Grande. 1t is only a few months since Nap,
Icons letter to General Forey was publishe,
4 announcing his intention to permanently estal
| tablsh French influence on this contnen
a Whether by this he meant to place the ne
empire under French protection, to seize upo
$ Sonora or obtain a cession Of Texas from Il
i rebels was not clear. Any one or all three
I these schemes may have occupied his mind
e the time. That they have been discarded
the force Of events is now evident. The CO
: respondence which appears in the Blue nj
. Yellow Books, published soon after the mectil
- Il