East Saginaw courier. (East Saginaw, Mich.) 1859-18??, 1863-04-28
EAST SAGINAW, MICHIGAN, APRIL 2S, 1868.

the Potomac was 10 be made without leaving in and
about Washington such force in the opinion not
only Of General Mcclellan but Of 'the commanders
of all the army corps" was sui ient TO render the
capital secure And by reference 10 the report OF
the council of war held at Fairfax Court House on
the 18th Of March, 1862, consisting Of Gems Mellow
ell, Sumner, Hentzleman and Keys. ii will be seen
that three memoers Of that council deemed neces-
tary for the safety Of Washington that the forts on
the right bank Of the Potomac should be safely gar
risoned, those the left bank occupied and COW
ering force of 25, 900 men" The other General
(Sumner) deemed 10000 men in all sufficient.
All the testimony goes to prove that when our
troops first landed the peninsuar the force of the
enemy there consisted Of Magruder's command,
variousy estimated at from 900 10 IL 600 men, eS-
cept General Mcclellan, who estimates II from l5-
600 TO 10000. The Hon. Lomuel Bowden, Unit
| ed States Senator from Virginia-thcn living with
in the rebel lines Williamsburg-testi6es that
the rebels did not determine TO reinforce Magruder
until il APPARENT that forces intezded TO stop
| before Yorktown and commence n regular siege OF
the place. IL is now evident, whatever may have
been the opinion Of officers at the time that our
forces, when they first appeard before Yorktown,
could have pierced the line Of work across the Pc
ninsala there without much difficulty, isolating
Yorktown, and cutting OF reinfercemcnts, when tho
place must have fallen in a very short time >ome
Of generals expected and desired that that shoul
be done. Heintzelman forwarded to General Nc
Clellan the application Of General Hamilton, com
manding division, for permission to force the enc
my's lines No answer was received to the applica-
ton.
Instead ofthat, however, siege was determined
upon, contrary TO the desire of the President, who
as early as the 9th Of April, wrote to General
Mcclellan as follows:
There is n curious mystery about the number
Of troops now with you. telegraphed you on tho
9th, urging that you had over 10000 with you.
had just obtained from the Secretary Of War n
statement, taken he said, from your own returns,
making l09 900 then with yeu and en- route to you.
You now say that you will have not S5, 600 men,
when all route TO you shall have reached. you
How can this discrepancy Of 900 be accounted
for? Asto Gen. Wools command, understand 1t
is doing for you precisely what like number OF
your would have to do If that command was
away.
"I suppose the whole force which has gono for
ward to you is with you by this time, and II SO
think it is the precise time for you to strike blow
| BY delay the enemy will steadily gain on you-that
is he will gain faster by Notifications and reinforce
ments than you can by rcinforcements alone.
| And, once more let me tell you it is indspensa-
BILE TO you that you strike a blow AN powerless
to help this You will do me tho justice TO rcmem
Der always wished not going down the bay in
search of field, instead of lighting at Man
assas, only shifting and not surmonnting dihi-
| Guilty that we should find the same enemy and the
same or equal intrenchmcnts mt either place The
country will not fail to notc-is noting now-that
the present hesitation is but the story Of Manassas
repeated.
And the repetition made complete nearly n
| month later, when the enemy, in tho face of a
pcror force evacuated their forts without loss, and
without the knowledge of tho General commanding
| our army.
Gen Mcclellan, however, did not deem his forces
sufficient and objected very strongly TO the order Of
the President detailing McDowelps corps for the de-
feEse Of Washington, as "imperlling the success OF
our cause" lie called again and again for rein
forcements, asking for Franklin's and McCalls di-
| of Me n
Of Franklin; insisting that Franklin's division, at
least, should be sent to him. On the llth of April
Franklins division was ordered to Alexandria TO
embark for Fort Monroe. On the litn Gen Frank
lin reported to Gen Mcclellan near Yorktown, but
his troops remained on board the transports until
after tho enemy evacuated the place. when the Z
were ordered 10 West FONT
On the let of May, the President tclegraphs to
General Mcclellan: I" Your call for Parrott guns
from Washington alarms me- chiefly because IL ar
CUES procrastination. Is anything to be done p
On the night the Sd and the morning Of the
4th of May the enemy evacuated Yorktown
without loss. One Of the witnesses testi6es that
General Mcclellan was very much chagrined aud
mortified Mt the evacuation, as he hal made his
preparations to open from his batteries on Monday
the 5th Of May.
Preparations continued to be made in Washing
ton to send down by land from fredericksburg the
remainder of General McDowclls corps, he being
directed 10 cooperate fully with Genor ii Mcclellan
not appear to have been in accordance with Gencr-
al McClean's wishes; on tho 26th of June, he tele
graphed to the Secretary Of War:
at ought to be distinctly understood that Nc
Dowell and his troops completely und.r my con
troll. I received a telegram from him requesting
that McCalPs divivision might be placed 80 rs TO
join him Immediately upon his arrival That re-
quest docs not breathe the proper spirit; whatever
troops come TO me must be disposed Of to do
the most good, ] do not feel that in such crcum-
stances ns those in which I am now placed, Gencr-
| nj Med should wish the general interest TO he sacri-
feed for the purpose Of increasing his command -
IL / cannot have fully control all the troops I want
mono Of them but would prefer to fight the battle
what with J have, and lot others bo responsible for
the results
On the 18th of Juno General Mcclellan tele-
graphs to the Secretary Of War that he has receiv
ed information from dcserters to the effect that
troops have left Richmond to reinforce Jackson
that the movement commenced on the ath and
that if reinforcements have gone to jackson. they
probably not less than 10 600 men that he can
not vouch for the truth Of the statement hut that
il seems pretty certain that it is believed in Rich
mond among tke rebel troops To this the Presi-
dent replies, the same day. that the information
is corroborated by displtch from General King Mt
Fredericksburgh and remarks: +" If this Is true II
Is as good as a reinforcement to you of nm equal
| force"
On the same day General Mcclellan tclepraphed
| TO the President:
| A general engagement may take place at any
hour An advance by us involves battle more OF
less decisive The enemy exhibits ut every point at
readiness to meet US. They certainly have great
numbers and extensive works. If ton or fifteen
thousand men have left Richmond to reinforce Jack
son, it illustrates their strength and confidence =
| After tomorrow shall fight the rebel army rs
soon Providence will permit. We shall await
only favorable condition Of the earth and sky, and
the completion Of some Necessary prclimin aries"
The returns Of General Mcclellan to the Adju-
tant Generals Office give the following the strength
Of the army on the Peninsula on the 10th Of June
Present for duty, ll5 l02; succai duty, sick, and
under arrest, l2,225 absent, 295ll-total l59 e38
About this time the rebel General Stuart, with
his cavalry made his celebrated raid, making the
entire circuit Of our army unharmcd, and discover
ing the nature of communications with the
York river.
On the Gath md 25th Of June General M;Ci,llan
tclegraphs the Secretary Of War:
McCLELLAS's June 25-4, Is NJ.
"I have Just returned from tho fleld, and find
your dispatch in regard 20 Jackson Several
trabands, just in, give information confirming the
supposition that Jacksoa's advance Is at OF near
Hanover Court House, and that Beanrcgard arriv-
cd with strong reinforcements, in Richmond ycstcr.
day. I incline to think that Jackson will attack INV
right and roar The rcbcl force Is stated at 200 00C
including Jackson and Bcaurcgard. shall have
TO contend against vastly superior Odds " the re-
A. Al = n + A.