Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-07-16
: THE GENERAL-IN-CHIEF.

Gen. Halleck, on the occasion of the recent visit
paid by some of our citizens to the President and
his Cabinet to congratulate our military and civil
authorities on the late victories obtained by Gems
Meade and Grant, remarks as follows:
/" In his speech in Washington on Tuesday night Gen.
Halleck took to himself the credit of Grants victories
saying that Grant had been under his command all the
time. This assumption by the Generaln-Chef very
COOL and is so regarded in Washington where there
feeling that he has not been especially successful in direct
ing the army Immediately under his eye. The fact is
that the further commanders have been from Washing
ton and the more independent they have been of the mill
tary control peculiar to the directing minds at the capital
the more marked has been their success Mr. Beecber
was not FAR wrong when he suggested that Rosecran
should thank God for the Aeghanes. Vicksburg would
have been captured year ago. If Gen Haeck had fur
asked for Had Gen. Halleck done his duty at that time
would have saved thousands of lives and tens Of millions
Of dollsrs"
We do not understand that Gen. Halleck took
to himself the credit Of Gen. Grants victories "
before Vicksburg any more than he assumed the
responsibility for Gen. Bankss repulses before Port
Hudson. What he said was as follows:
/" 1t is nearly two years since took command of
tue army OF the West during och time Gen. Grant has
srred under my orders During that time he has fought
fifteen battles and won fifteen victories On single
cson has that commander and that army been repused
1t will be seen that, according to Gen. Halleck's
language, it was the General who fought the ff-
teen battles that won the fifteen victories, and
that General was Grant. Gen. Halleck never
fought BATTLE and therefore could not mean to take
to himself any credit " for the "victories " of
Gen. Grant when he said that the latter had
/" served under his orders for the last two years
1t is quite true that Gen. Grant has served under
the orders of the Generalin-C Chief, as do all of our
Generals, but, in stating this fact, Gen. Halleck
did not mean, we suppose, to 7" take to himself"
any credit beyond that which rightfully pertains
to his official relations. There are certain limits
within which we can conceive that the language
ne used was entirely just when he spoke of
his military subordinate "as serving under his
ORDERS" and we therefore cannot see the propriety
or justice Of assailing him on the assumption that
he meant to appropriate to himself what, within
other limits, was SO obviously due to the personal
energy of Gen. Grant.
1t is true there are some of our contempoi aries
who appear to think that the military of
Gen. Meade and Gen. Grant are chiefly due to
the consummate skill of the General-in- Chief"
and, as we know nothing to the contrary, it would
be as idle for US to deny it it is for others to
affirm it, without knowing, we opine, much more
than we do. Among the journals which differ
from the Hartford Courant, and which award to
Gen. Halleck the first praise for our late victories,
is the Philadelphia American. 1t says:
Should the grades of general and lieutenant
general be established it is obvious that the Generan-
Chief to whose consummate skill we are indebted for so
much of the of great campaigns should be the
first promoted No doubt Congress will at its next ses
son provide in this way for the reward of generals
by which time the results of their abors will appear more
conspcuously than at present. For part, we
must say that cannot perceive the objections to the
establishment OF these higher grades and that should
like to see great merit in a commander rewarded even
with the distinguished honors of the msrshas baton
We have waited patiently for the merits of our generals to
become conspicuous and it is right should do honor to
them now'that they are so'
AS some months ago we fell into the error of
supposing, in common with our contemporaries,
that Gen. Halleck had had something to do with
the direction of Gen. Burnsides military movements
when they resulted SO disastrously at Fredericks-
burg, and as it subsequently appeared that he was
in no way responsible for the mode or time of the
abortive attack made the 18th Of December last,
we shall deem it prudent to await the publication
of the information undoubtedly possessed by the
Philadelphia American when it awards to the
General-in-Chief high praise for t" the consummate
skill to which we are indebted for SO much of the
success of our great campaigns"
We all remember that when Gen. Burnside
made report, under date of March 16, 1862, re-
specting his military operations in North Carolina
he was careful to state that these operations had
been conducted according to the every minute
instructions" of the General-in- Chief, then Gen
Mcclellan. He wrote as follows:
i beg to say to the General Commanding the army
that have endeavored to carry the very minute in
structons given by him before leaving Annapolis and
thus far events have been snguarly concden with his
antcipations only hope that may in future be able
to carry out in detail the remaining plans the campaign
The only thing have to regret is the delay caused by the
elements"
The friends of Gen. Mcclellan were not slow to
claim for him (what, however, he never claimed
for himsef) the credit due to him for his part in
the conception Of the plans which Gen. Burnside
had executed and if it should appear that Gen
Halleck has minutely directed Gen. Grant in the
operations of the siege at Vicksburg, or Gen. Meade
in the steps which led to the repulse Of Gen. Lee
at Gettysburg, we do not see why the honor due
should be withheld from him, any more than from
his predecessor. AS we have animadverted on the
failure Of such Of Gen. Halleck's plans as are
known to us-the removal, for instance, of the
Army of the Potomac from Harrison's Landing to
fredericksburg, with view of marching overland
to the capture of Richmond-we should feel the
moro satisfaction in according to him full praise for
the success Of any plan which he may have de-
vised since he has filed the Office of Genera-in-
Chief. But as we know that the President on
several critical occasions has himself directed the
operations Of the Army of the Potomac, without
even informing Gen. Halleck of the dispositions
he had made, 1t seems to us Just to all concerned
that we should wait for official information in the
premises before undertaking to distribute the praise
relatively due to Mr.. Lincoln, to Gen Halleck
and the Generals corn endnp IN Tho 6eId for tbc