The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1863-01-01
The Committee on the Conduct OF the
War

erals BURNSIDE, SUMMER
Hooker. Woodbury., Haupt, Haleck
and Meigs, The committee report the
testimony without comment.
Gen. burnside said, when after the
battle of Antietam Mcclellan decided
to cross the Potomac, | said, that in
INV opinion, he would never be able
to take the army on that route beyond
the Rappahannock, unless he succeed
Ell a fighting the enemy at some place
on this side. That if he proposed TO
90 toRichmond by land he would have
to 90 to Fredericksburg and IN that
be partially agreed with me.
On the 9Th Of November, after this
conversation, Nc Clellan gave an order
to CAPT. Drum, Chief Of Engineers, to
have all the pontoon bridges at Berlin
and in that neighborho God, that could
be spared, taken up and sent down to
Washington with a view OF getting
them down to this town in case he de
cided to go by the way OF Fredericks-
burg.
The letter containing that order was
written on the 9Th Of November, but,
dS ullNlCISLdllNl, " do uOU ItGtlNCu ui-
til the 18th Of November. Gen. Burn
side speaks of the surprise with which
he received the Presidents order to
take command Of the army Of the Pos
tomac, and thai he had repeatedly ex>
pressed the opinion he(Burnside) was
not competent to command so large an
army, and that Mcclellan was the fit
test person.
He than says: Halleck came to see
me Nov. 4th. On the 9th made out
plan Of operations in accordance
with Halieck's order, and sent it to
Washington.
Gen. Burnside then gives a detailed
account of this plan, and speaks of
the disastrous delay in receiving pom
toons, and says. On The 18th he start
ed column to Fredericksburg, not
knowing of the delay The pontoons
however did not, start till the 10th,
and that day it commenced raining,
which delayed them so much and the
roads became so bad that when they
got to Dumfries, they foated the pom
toons off the wagons, sent to Washo
ington for steamer and carried them
to Aqua Creek, sending the wagons
around by land. The pontoons did
not get there until the 22d or ODD of
November.
After the first delay in starting the
pOntoons, | think they were sent as
quickly as they could have been, and
the supplies and quartermaster's stores
have always beon in as great album
dance as we have expected, for after
the 10th of November the weather
and roads were particularly bad.
After reaching Fredericksburg I
saw at once there was no crossing the
Rappahannock with the army at that
time,
Q-Since you have assumed CONS
mand of the army of the Potomac
have all its movements been made ac-
cording to your own judgment? or
have some OF them been directed by
the General in Chief, the Secretary
of War, or the President oft the United
States?
A-They hare ali been in accord
0nce Nth oey Onon.jud90e1et. In some
cases l have submitted my views,
which have been approved.
Q-Who did you understand was
responsible for the forwarding of the
pontoons to Falmouth?
Al understand that Gen. Halleck
was to give the necessary orders, and
then the officers who should receive
the orders were only responsible for
the pontoons coming here.
| could have carried out that part
of the plan through officers Of my own
but having just taken command Of
army with which | was but slightly ac-
qualnted, it ssevident that it was
as much as | could attend to, with the
assistance of all my offic 9rs, to change
its position from Warrenton to Fred
ericksburg; and felt, indeed expect.
ed that all the parts Of the plan which
were to be executed in Washington
would be attended to by the officers
at that place under the direction Of
the different departments to which
those parts of my plan appertained.
Odd you OF moi understand that
you We're to be responsible for seeiuo
that these orders were to be carried
out?
Al did not; never imagined for
amoment that | had to carry out any.
thing that was required TO be done Mt
Washington; Gen. Meigs told me dis
tinctly, several days ago in Washing
ton that he never saw my plan OF oD-
erations until showed il 10 them on
that day.
Q-Do | understand you to say in
your statement you expected General
Franklin to carry the point at the ex>
IRENE left of the ridge, IN the rearsof
the town, and thereby enable our
troops to storm and carry the fortif-
cations?
Al did expect him 10 carry that
point, which being done would place
our forces in the rear of their extreme
left, and which thought at the time
would shake their forces in the RIDGE
TO such an, extent that the position IN
front could be easily stormed and car
ried.
Q-To what do you attribute the
failure to accomplish that?
A-To the great strength Of the
position, and the accumulation Of the
enemy's forces there. I expected that
the bridges would be built in two or
three hours after they were unloaded.
which was about daylight. Instead
of that those on the right were not
built until three o'clock in the aftrnoon
and had only the means of getting
across one division over the bridge on
the right.
General FrankIin's bridges were
built about noon, and were held bv !
our troops on the opposite bank. This !
gave the enemy time to accumulate
their forces. which were stro+o1,.5