Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1863-02-06
Never Meant to Take Richmond.

Some of the Abolition journals have recent.
ly announced the important discovery that
Richmond would be Of little or no value to
us, and that lie capture would not advance the
Union cause particle. And along with this
announcement comes the proposition to break
up the Army of the Potomac, and scatter Il In
fragments over the West and Southwest Il
has been supposed by some verdant people,
and even by "a few military men, that one object
the Administration had steadily in view was to
take and hold the rebel capital. But the Prov.
idence POst states facts that clearly prove such
notion Incorrect, In the following satirical
view:
When the President and his advisers saw
that General Mcclellan proposed to start for
the Peninsula with magnificent army, numer-
ous enough to make the speedy fall of Rich
mond certainty If he was allowed to 20 on,
they hastened to withdraw about third Of his
best troops; then, with the aid of the rebels
themselves, Richmond was safe. But Gen.
Mcclellan still pressed on with such vigor that
at one time it seemed as II they would have to
take him away from the army altogether to
keep him out Of the rebel capital. They even
consulted Burnside, and would then have made
him the successor Of Mcclellan but for bis re.
fusal to accept the position. Disease and bat
! ties, however, thinned the ranks, while the de-
lay swelled those of the rebels. Mcdowell
then wished to join Mcclellan to make success
q certainty, and would have done 30 but for
the Presidents peremptory order forbidding H.
That order made the rebel capital safe again
A third time General Mcclellan proposed to
capture Richmond, moving from Harrisons
Landing, but General Hslleck could hnd only
twenty thousand troops when General Nc
Clellan required thirty.Ave thousand, and
Richmond was again safe. When Mcclellan
had taken up his march again from the Poto-
mac for the rebel capital, and was moving on.
and of went his head, and the head Of the re-
bellion was fourth time safe. The policy Of
the Administration has been not TO take Rich.
mond, as the people believed, but only to
threaten Il and punish the people by keeping
them In constant terror The movement on the
enemy's works at fredericksburg was only to
frighten the rebels, and the retreat only to show
them that the PRECEDENT has more than one way
Of doing things. When the President really
makes up his mind that the proper time has
90 10 overthrow the rebel army at Ffedericke.
burg and demolish Richmond be will issue
proclamation to that effe,t, and It will be done
with the stroke Of q pen. The people therefore
should not be despondent. The war, II 10 true,
is costing trife In men and money, but only
small paIt Of what we have got, and we should
be thankful we have them TO give. Public
affairs are managed with an ability, an integrl.
ty, and success never surpassed. The rebels
have done but little more than We have, with
scarcely 1.-THE of the resources. The Admin
istration is an able one. There Ia no cause for
dependency whatever. There is no
ror"-eveything is going rlght--nothing 10
going wrong-the country is great and mo
body's hurt"