The Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1837-1867, 1863-04-24
Report of the Committee on the Con.
duct Of the War
lCoNCLUDED FROM LAST WEEK I
THE BATTLES BEFORE RICHMOND.

i "
ldence will permit" On the Goth the adiu
iant general returned the strength of the ar
my as follows: "Present for duty, l2j,lO2
special duty, sick and in arrest, 1925; ab
sent. 2OJ2l total, 2j6 S3S."
About this time the rebel Gen Stuart made
his cavalry raid round our entire force, dis
covering the nature of our communications
with York river. At 6.lj P. NJ, june %
Gen Mcclellan tplegrapheI t. the President
notifying him Of the approach Of the rebels
adding: Il incline to think that Jackson will
attack my right and rear. The rebe! force is
stated at 100000, including Jackson and
Beauregacd. shall have to contend against
vastly superior odds. if these reports be true;
bat this army will do all III the power of man
to hold their position and repulse any attack
rearet my great infcriority of numbers but
+ Il that am IN no way responsible for It, as
have not failed to represent repeatedly the
necessity Of reinforcement.
will do al that general can do with the
splendid army have the honor to command
and if it is destroyed by overwhelming num-
bers, can at least die with it, and share its
fate. b 1t # the result of the action which
will occur Tomorrow, or within a short time.
is disaster, the responsibility cannot be
thrown on my shoulders it must rest where
i belongs"
The answer of the President is as follows
WASHINGTON, :
June %, 1862
Your three dispatches yesterday in relation
to the affair, ending with the statement that
you completed y succeeded in making your
point is very gratifying.
IN later one OF 6.lJ P. NJ, suggested the
probability Of you being overwhelmed, by
100000 men, and talking of whom the re-
SpOusbll!ty will belong, pains me very much.
/ give you al can, and act on the presump-
tion that yop will do the best YOU can with
what you have; while you continue. ungen-
erOuSly think, to assume that could give
YOU more if would. | have omitted,
shall omit, no opportunity TO send You rein
:orcen.ents vixen possibly can.
A. LINCOLN"
The rebel attack on our right wing Gen
McCall's division, stationed at Mechanics
vll'e-whlch was the opening of the seven
days battleS-waS male on the 26th of June
between two and three o'clock P. NJ The
enemy were repulSed at nigthtal. On the
next day. the 21th, occurred the battle of
Gaines Mills, our forces number .21,0OO or
}O,0OJ, and The enemyS two or three times
that. We were driven back with the total
loss # about $40 men. Gen Mcclellan was
questioned as to the policy of leaving 30
900 men to resist such superior force. He
approved it by saying: Il prevented the
enc ny from getting on our flank and Fear,
'..!, IN nj opinion, enabled US to withdraw
he arnly AMI its material
Tne night after the battle at Gaines Mills
til our forces were concentrated on the right
bank Of the Chlckahominy, and the next day
the movement on James river began. That
'.lght Gen Mcclellan triegraphs the Secreta-
~ OF War that he (McClellan) is not respon-
slbie for the result, and fees the govern
ment has not sustained his army.
10 this the President replies, on the 18th;
" If you have had drawn battle, or re-
pulse, 1t is the price We pay for the enemy
not being IN Washington. We protected /
Washington and the enemy concentrated on
y"u. Had We stripped Washington he would
have been apon US before the troops could
have got to you. Save your army at all
events. Viii send reinfOrcemen:s as fast as
we can. OF course they cannot reach You
to-day, Tomorrow, or next day"
Ihe 18th passed without any serious fight
ny. Col B. ). Alexander testities that he
was at this time ordered to make series of
reconnolsSanCeS to facilitate the change of
base then making, and ne says while at head
quarters, receiving his instructions, he was
-h1wn, as ne testltes, printed order, not
then issued, directing the destruction of the
baggage OF officers and men, and the tents,
camps. eq9ipage and things of that kind
appealing to the army to submit to this pri-
va;ion, as 1t would be only temporary-"only
for few days" He demonstrated with Gen
Mcclellan against issuing such an order ;
that II would have a bad effect, would demor-
a..ze the army, as it would be telling them
more plainly than they could be told in any
other way that they were defeated ard run
ming for their lives. The order was not issu-
cd. and Gen Mcclellan testiies that he has
no recollection Of any such order
ihe retreal on James river now being in
. Station, Glendale and Malvern were fought
'!ur:cs the movement Of the army to the
James, the enemy being repulsed in each
days fshiing and our army falling back, un-
der orders during the night
1t would appear, from all the information
the committee can obtain, that the battles
were fought, AM troops handled, new dispo-
Sltlons made and old ones changed, entirely
by the corps commanders, without directions
from the commanding general. He would
Place the troops in the morning. then leave
lne field and seek the position for the next
day, giving no directions until the close OF
the day lighting when the troops would be
ordered to fall back during the night to the
new position selected by him. In that man
uer The army reached the James river.
The battle Of Malvern Hill, July l, was
the most fercely contested ,f any on the
peninsula and was a Union victory at al
. points. Many of the officers examined by
the committee are of the opinion that the
enemy were so severely punished on that
day that they could have been followed tc
RIchmond had our army foil owed them up
vigorously.
Still Gen Mcclellan feared renewed en-.
counter. He writes MY men are com
pleteIy exhausted, and dread the result il
We are attacked to-day by fresh troops"
o. the II day Of July the President tele
graphs to Gen Mcclellan that it is impossibI,
10 send him the 10000 men he asks for, ant
that he hes in al east OF the mountains onl,
: 1000 men for all purposes. He adds; Ii
j n Your frequent mention OF responsibility
. You bad The impression that | blame You f,
d not doing mole tn n yoa can, please be re
; lived of such impression. only beg tha
IN like manner You will not ask impossioil
4 ties of me-
- On t. -