Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-01-03

Administration. He expresses the opinion that
I" " matters could be satisfactorily arranged with
Gen. Mcclellan he thought that officer could COM
mand tho Army of the Potomac better than any
other Generalin it," And again, in describing the
considerations which had twice induced him to
decline the command, he says: /" On both of these
expressed I'd the President the opinion that did
not think there was any one who could do as much
with the army as Gen. Mcclellan could, II matters
could be SO arranged as to remove their objections
to him" 1t would have been impossible for Gen.
Burnside to express more strongly the disadyan-
tages under which Gen. Mcclellan remained in
command of the Army of the Potomac after its
withdrawal from Harrison's Landing. No COM
mander can count on the support of superiors who
have again and again sought to compass his dis
placement
And as "public opinion pursued Yelling
ton in the Spanish Peninsula, projecting its sha-
dows across the plans of his campaign, SO in our
present war We have had frequently to deplore
this same disturbing presence, from the day when
the " on to Richmond" cry precipitated the first
Inflated advance upon Manassas down to the recent
disaster at Fredericksburg How the voice of
popular impotence urged our Generals to make
that last unfortunate attack is confessed by Gen
Sumner, when, in his testimony, he spoke as fol-
lows:
"Iwas in favor Of crossing the Rappahsnnock because
neither our Government nor people would be satisfied
to have our army to retire from this position into
winter quarters until knew the force that the
other side OF the river and the only way which could
have that was by going there and feeling Of them
And so, too, when Gen. Woodbury. made repre-
sensations to Gen. Haeck in favor Of delaying the
movementof Gen. Burnside's army from Warrenton
to Fredericksburg until the pontoons could be for
warded to the latter point, his suggestion found no
hearing, simply because it spoke of "delay" He
says:
Gen. Haecks order to me of The 18th made it apparent
the army preparing to march to Fredericksburg As
to the time when the movement would BIZ made never
received any information. Fearing, however, that the
movement would be precipitate went to Gen. Halecks
Office aud urged him to delay the FIVE days
insure it's To this he replied that he ,ood do
thing to delay for instant the adrance Of the army upon
Richmond Iroined that my suggestion not intended
to cause delay, but rather to prevent it
But it would be useless to multiply instances in
illustration of the analogies which exist between
the war of Wellington in the Spanish peninsula
and that now waging in our own land. Other
points Of simiitude designated by Mr.
Stile, particularly in regard to the deficiencies of
regimental and staff officers, "a matter on which
the Prince de Joinville descants at length in his
review Of Gen. McClellan's operations,) the want
of uniform policy in the Cabinet, the mistakes of
Generals, and the embarrassments created by poti-
ers to the pamphlet itself. Tkose who have more
leisure will seek the fountains" in Napier's
"Peninsular War" and Gurwoods Dispatches of
Wellington.