Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-01-17

echoed by the Herald Express Journal Of Commerce &c
1t wasn vain that enreated them T. fobear 20 await
the publication Of The evidence; to kRoD whereof they
affirmed 10 strike but hear They were not on the
scnt Of party captubent turning 70 political accoup,
the disappointment anguish and dsmay OF smllten ana
sorrowiDg people They openly charged the Admnlstra-
on with having ovefrued Gen Bnrnsds and bis suboidr
nate mapders aud iushes tho army upon
batteries defiance Of all military opinon And, though
tue ealues have since been Thoroughly oifpfoseu ~
tue emphatic and crcumstaatlsl testimony Of Geos Burn
side, Hallrck Negs Sumner Hooker &c they have mol
yet been rstracted aud to this hcur implicitly believed
by hundredo of thousands.
What must be their effect upon the army ia which
these Journals are widely circulated Can men Do ~
good condition for further efforts involving peru and sscF
ee who have been made to believe that their hives are SIN
ply thrown away by incapsbs aud badeilag clvas 10
override the judgment aud direct the movements ~ thes
Generals What is the inevitable answer to these cues
tons Those wicked caumniea on the President aug ms
immediate subordaates have weakened the Army 81 me
Potomac far did it's failure at Fredericksburg
And ihe authors Of this machef turn ecoly around
and wonder why the grand army over the happana
mock aud tar on it's way TO Richmond I!
The Washington correspondence the New York
Evening Pest, writing on the 7lh instant, says the
Army of the Potomac is rendered Ineffective by the
delinquency of the Government in paying the troops
their stipulated wages. He writes:
There is great dissatisfaction in the Army of the Poo
matchmaking amounting almost to ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
the chief of 10 the fact that the have not had
their pay for months II s surprising that the Govern
ment have permitted the evil tn go unccrrectad SO
long when such vast interests at stake An intelligent
friend just returned from the army at Fredericksburg,
tells that The effectiveness Of that splendid body ~
troops will be DESTROYED If the present condition Of things
continues for any length Of time Tbere is alarming
amount OF complaint and positive dsahtcon Tho men
cay that the Government nothing for their wants,
and prosavery officers have not lost the opportunity to
make capital against the civilians at Washington
VT L I, abaY
be given to these representations. That they truly
describe the mental state Of the Army Of the Poto-
mac is, we fear noontestible. And that this state
appeared before many Democratic papers had time
to reach the troops, with inyidious comments on
the battle Of Fredericksburg, infer from the fol-
lowing testimony borne by Gen Sumner before the
Congressional committee. We quote from the ex-
animation of that veteran officer as follows:
"Ques,ion In regard the condition Of the army since
the battle, it demorsizod any more than by the loss OF
that number Of men
"Queston To what extent and ia what way?
Answer 1t 10 difficult to describe it in any other way
than by saying there great deal too much croakHg
| there is net sI6ieiene confidence"
In what or in whom the army lacks confidence Gen.
Sumner does not say, but the Administration should
seek to discover the truth in the premises and to
apply the appropriate remedy to restore Sufficient
confidence"
In the mean time, while the Army of the Poto-
mac is in this condition. it has occurred TO us that
| as the Government has no use for Gen. Mcclellan
10 the field Che having been found too slow, it
may still be possible to turn him to some good &C
count if, at the Presidents request, he could be
induced to address spirit-stirripg letter to the
devoted men who still love him SO well, urging
them to have all possible confidence in the present
military administration, and especially warning
them against the /" demoraliEing" tendency Of
Democratic papers, and intoxicating the duty OF
waiting patiently for their of pay They
might at the same time be cautioned against in
dulgipg in any discussions which turn upon the
question whether the battle of Fredericksburg was
an g error" or an accident question
having been already decided by the highest military
authority known to the Constitution and the Laws.
| We do not know whether Gen. Mcclellan would
be willing to wIite such letter, but as on for
| mcr occasion, when temporarily stripped of the
command Of his troops, be was persuaded by the
President to address letter to Gen Porter, urging
the officers and men Of the Army of the Potomac
to give to Gen. Pope the same cooperation and
support they had formerly given to him, We do not
very clearly see how he could now refuse to comply
with similar request if properly approached on
the subject. The despatch to Gen. Porter, written
on the ist of September last, was sought by the
President expressly on the ground Of the "per-
sonal influence" which Gen. Mcclellan was still
supposed to have over the officers aud men who
had been placed under new commander. Ia this
way it was hoped to supplement the eaergy Of
Gen Pope with the army's confidence in McCiel-
Ian, and if the experiment did not work as well IS
might have been wished, it was nevertheless the
| best use to whish such General without an
army could be put, and still suggests an easy
means for the cure of the " croakipg" and want
of sufficient confidence" which, according to
Gen. Sumner, now obtain in the Army Of the Pc
tomac
| FROM sOITTH CAROLINA