Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1863-12-09
The Richmond Enquirer and Cenfed-
crate Officers.

these surrendcrs was more disgracefui than many
Of ours, which have not called even for an tfhcial
roprimand.
This indiscrimiuate donunciation of Confed-
crate officers is badly in keeping with the charac-
ter of digniaed, hsh toned prcss; it is injurious
to the cause which it processes to maintain; and
above all, it is contrary to the truth Of history
Neither of these surrende-s, says the Enquirer
MAS moro di.graceful than many Of ours." We
should have been glad if the Enquirer had thought
the character Of our officers Of sufficient impor-
tance to discriminate and point .us which "f our
surrenders MAS % disgraceful ms Baglen or Uim.
But since It deals in grnsralite' will take issue
with it upon that statement, and we deny that
any one surrender of our army was as disgrace
rul as that of Baylen. We exclude from this
discussion the surrender Of Cumberland Gap BY
Con. Frazier, as the acts have not yet been made
public. We ncoept the other ten casesgivon, anu
we undertake to show that none of them was n
disgraceful as tho surrender of Gen. Dupont at
Baylea; and for this opinion 40 appeal to sim
pie statement Of facts.
When Dupont surrendered to Castanos at Bay
len, more than eighteen thousand French soldiers
who for fifteen years, had been the torsor Of
Europe-lad down their arms before a raw army,
incapable of resisting balf that pumber led by
an able man. The entire Spanish army undsr
Redipy, ard the only corps engaged with Dupont,
consisted Of only twon;y thousand undisciplined
,roops-s.w nilitia-including multitude If
peasan.s. TIE two armies were equal in poiut Of
number. Dupont commanded the veterans of
NAPOLEON; Reding commanded RAN troops, most
Of VIII ,m had mover been under fire. AID yet,
after 4 weak and cowarGly dufence, Dupont sur
rendered, as prisoners of war, 1s,eaO of Napole-
on's veterans. Again, Dupcnt's own officers
ch arged him with havrs surrendered 10 save the
imm -nse plunder ho had stolen and Was taking
out Of Spain. Here is n French General guilty
bsth Of cowardieo and treason aHd yet: the E;l-
yuirer tells US that this surrur der vas not noru
Iiryrac,ful than usay Of uurs. Will the E"q"i-
rer naIno one field uu which the Confederate flag
nos lowered uader circumstances Us dise:nceful
20 those Of Ba,leE? Whero is tie Confederate
G.neral publicly charged with ecwardice aud
Lroston? /? Let US have bis name. If the Enqai-
rer knowns any such ense, We hope it will publi.h
It to tho world. Justice requires that such char
s.s should bc specific. Tic character oi Coused-
crate officers is of too uuet vaiac, both to the
Country and to t.elnsel,es, TO be spurted with in
this loose and reckless naLuer.
|, il y hard fate that brave mon fighting in do
fence Of their country, should he held up 10 rcorn
and drrisian, because, by tho chances Of war they
have b,en forced to surrender TO the enemy. The
statement made hy tho Enquirer could be war
rantvd only up-n the hndins OF Court Martial,
and not upon loose newspaper rumors. The En-
gnirer owes 1t to itsef as we'll 20 the public,
to make good ibis grave charge against Conled-
ernte officers.
Again: The Enquirer speaks contemp.uously
Of the defence uf VicLsUurg and Port Hudson,
and wishes to know where are our Snrago. VI und
Gerunn. Such language tves DO, ,uusd wsl in
Confederate newspaper; it does not fall rleas-
sntly, We are sure, upon tho esr Of d. man who
has !S"aAesH blood in his veins. When tho sisge
of Sarage,sa is properly understood, we are not
gIio sure that tho famed city Of the Ebro deserves
any mere glory than cities upon the Mississippi
Sarxso.sa and Eicks burg were both bcsicged, and
they both surrendered. Mar,hal Lannes .sieged
SAragosss with army Of thirty five Thousand
men; the garrison consisted OF fifty thousand
Spauiards. Gen. Grant had an army of s.vonty
thou!and, while tho gnrrson Of Vicksburg con-
sisted Of less than thirty thousand. The defence
Of Nieksburg then VISA much norc difficult than
that Of Saragus:s; and AZ they both surrendered.
What was tho difference! ltwill be raid that the
dofenco Of The latter moro obstinate AN more
glorious. That thure was gronter ksarifco Of
life in tho Spanish town than III Tho Confederate.
is matter sf history; but that the Spanish SOL
dier displayed m.re for.itudo ur c"urage than tho
we utterly d.uy. No ONO familiar
with the fenimsulur wsI, will hotitnte to admit
that tho Confederate soldier is superior to The
Spanish. Indeed tho Spanish nrniy is admitted
to bs the worst in Europe. 1t mny be replied that
but for officers. We ar. equally ready lur
that issue. Gen.. Pembcrton ~ no fyurile Of
oars, but VIC will do him, or any other unfrrtun-
ate man, justice, md Ne willing TO compass |
him with Palafox the hero of Saragossa. "psla.
fox, rxys Napier, was OILY the nominsl chief of
saragossa; the laurela gathered in both ssiges
should adorn plobeisn brows-For moro. than n
month preceding the surrender, hs never came
I.r,h of vauled building whieA was imperuioa.
o shels, and in which, there is too much reasun to
believe, he, and others Of both sexes, lived in q
tate Of ssnsuality, forming disgusting contrast
o the wretchodrsss that surrounded them" We
believe that Con. Pember!on has no cause to
brink frum comparison wish this hero of Sara
.ossa. If there we're mere lives lost at Saragosss
han ut Vicksburg, it wss because tho former was
ess scientifically defended. And finally, 1ieks-
urg did not surrender to the superior prowess of
be enemy, but t" tho impcriuus demands of
.mine. If Geo. Prmberton had bad the advau-
ages belonging to Palafox, it is quite certain that
'ickybutg would never have fallen. What! a
arrisou of Fifty thousand Confederate soldiers
lrr.nder to Yankee army Of thirty-fve thou-
.nd 1? The idea is simply preposterous. And f.
OF we arc told !hat to Suragosss belongs the gio-