Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-03-27
from Warrington.
A GREAT Loss TO THE USIoS ARMY-How THE
ADMINISTRATIONS APPRECIATES MILITARY GEN
Ws-(iREAr DEPRESSION AT WASHiNGroS oN
AccoUSY OF THE REvERSEs on THE MISSISSIPPI.

A GREAT Loss TO THE USloN ARMY-How THE .
ADMINISTRATIONS APPRECIATES MILITARY GIN \
Us-tiREAT DEPRESSION AT " AsHiNGroS oN 4
AccoUSY OF THE REvERsEs on THE MISSISSIPPI.
Special Correspondence Of the Chicago Times.
WAsHIxGTox March % !
Bv the death of Edwin Sumner the Union I
aruv has lost its greatest and best General-ex !
cepting always. of course. Gen. Mcclellan Set /
ting Gen Mcclellan aside, there WIS no General
in the service who possessed the qualities OF
great commander in eminen; degree as Gen. /
Sumner His whole life had been passed IN the |
military service OF the country. During the long \
period OF forty four ysars he had served with dis
tinction in the various grades of Lieutenant Cap /
tain. Major Lieutenant Colonel. Colonel. Briga- /
der General. aud NJ ,jor General. He knew per |
fectly the duties OF the Offices Of each of these
grades and he exacted the faithful performance
of these duties from every officer under his com
mand Hence it that during the Peninsular |
campnign no army corps unless 1t was that OF
Franklin'sl was so efficient rs his; and hence II
was that during Burn~ides campaign in Novem
Der and December last. Summers grand division
rendered such eminent services. No General
contributed more To the success OF the PenInsu
lar campaien than Gen Sumner. At some fu
ture period. when the present rush of events has
subsidized | NAV entertain your readers with some
account of the brillian services of Gen. Sumner
and his corps for which have abundant materl-
ais
Pre- emineutly soldier himself. General Sum
ner had a perfect appreciation of military merit in
others He discerned the extraordinary genius OF
General Mcclellan and Tough, under him with
the consciousness that he serving under
master of the art of war But he had no conf
cence in the shall w capacity of Burnside he
served under him with alacritv and cheeriuineSs
indeed. but with the profound conviction that the
campaien would be failure Hrd the execu
tion of that campaign heen intrusted To General
Sumner instead OF to Burnside. it would have
succeeded BY rapid march General Sumner
BROUGHT his two corps a. armee from Warrenton
10 Falmouth before the enemy at Fredericksburg
were even aware OF his purpose to approach The
Rappahannork He had taken the Confederate
troops completely by surprise There were only
n few hundred of them ut Frederick -burg aud no
Notifications whatever He could have crossed
the Rappahsnnock and taken possession of the
heights of fredericksburg without opposition on
the 18th of November, and have 50 fortified those
heights in FIVE davs ms to have rendered their pos
session secure. He wished to do this But Burn
side forbade him Burnside DELAYED and daIlied
from that time till the 18th of December, with
whit result the world well knows
Gen Sumner remnined with the Army of the
Potomac till Hooker was appointed TO fill the
place once held nv Gen. Mcclellan, There was
but one course then left for the veteran He
knew Hooker well He knew that. small as
Burnside's capacity was, it was ten times that of
Hooker There was no place for him under such
tvro ~ Hooker aud he asked TO be relieved of
his cnmmtnd
If the Administration had any appreciation
whatever of military merit instead of accepting
thiS resignation, they would have placed General
Sumner nj once at the head of the army But
their appreciation of military merit j. ehown by
the fact that. only few days befor, Gen Sum
ner's death, the Administration han-hed him 10
If Missouri' aud
that they have decided send Gen Heint
zeman there, The Administration is determined
to take all the talent away from the Army of the
Potomac Now that Mcclellan. Sumner. Heint-
zeman. Porter and franklin aredispnsei of, there
remain neither frst-r second rate Generals
in that army The ablcst General i'm the Army
of The Potomac now is General Sioneman com
mrnding one of the corps d armee; and in The
next or fourth rank of ability. are Gen. SicklsS,
Gen Rirnev. Gen Couch Gen. Wilcox. Gen.
H,ncock. Gen Slorum, Gen. Robinson, Gen.
Berry, Gen Griffin Gen Sykes. Gen REYNOLDS
Gen Sedgwck and Gen Hooker hims ell-a
fully competent to command and mnneuver d.
vision Of ~ 600 men, but not competent for any
higher command
The Adminis ration people here are dreadfuliv
cha rrinel At the defeats rcverses ard repulseS
which our troops have suffered on the Mississippi
What makes the matter worse, i the f3ct that
the Administration lent rs counienance aud
sanction To the absurd stores inat were tee
graphed from here all over the country, few
days aco. 70 the effect that VicksbLrg evacu
ated; that the bombardment Of Port Hudson was
progressing with everv prospect of a speedy and
successful isSne: that the 400 exnedtion had
been successful. had passed HlineS Bluff and
had captured twenty eight Rebel transports: that
the Yazoo Pass expedition has, been successful.
had siiled down the Tallahltchie into the 200.
and had captured Yazoo Civ All these stories
are now known TO be shameful fa.rications IL
u now admitted bv the Administration That Ad
mirnl Porter was mistaken I'm regard to the signal
guns which he thought he heard: that the forh
cations 81 both Yick>h1rr and Port Hudson are
sn.h ~ " " render those places nearly imnreena-
be. hat Admir- IRA gut has met with a diSas
tftus defeat ut the later uOint titt the guns of
our river squa,lron~ cannot he >uil icutlv elevat
e. 70 enable them to reach rho lot- Hudson bat
teries at all: thai the Yazoo RI, expedition has
not cot az far M az Haines' Bllff: hat the va
~ PISS expedition has only GOT a. far down The
Tall1hatchie river as Fort Pemherion at It's Juno
tion with the Yazoo: that hctwee that Fort and
laz"o CIV here are known - be two other cot
ton cled fort hat these thee fonts vii all have
10 he takru he'1re Tazop CITY j reached and
that Yazno CITY Itself : also strongly fortified
Hence Nou hear douhf> expressed 70
whether fer all. the Mi~sl~Sippi river can ever
be oncued
But there i question that point. the
OpeIins of the MssiSsinni is a military enternrise
and = vii he successful ~ soon n Ire rroper
military means are used The error of the Adj
ministration has been in undertaking and under
rating the military power Of he enemy AMI the
skill of the Southern Generals