Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1863-07-30


pursuing it only after he had given rest Of thirty
six hours to his weared troops, meant to show
that as the Duke Of Wellington has said, there
| is nothing absolute in war;" and that victory
may be "complete and unequiyocaf' without al
ways resulting in the "bagging" or destruction
Of hundred thousand men, just as retreatine
army may sometimes be "propelly pursued" even
though it has already effected its escape " under
cover Of the night" Ia applying these maxims
to the battles of Gettysburg, Gen. Halleck must
have been aware that they equally applied to the
battle Of Antietam; and the prompt and generous
manner in which he appreciated the conduct Of
Gen. Meade in the former only shows, to those who
are willing to put candid construction on his
language, that if he was chary Of his " commends-
tons" in the case Of Con. Mcclellan, it was from
no insensibility to the achievements Of the army
under that officer.
In resuming, as we propose to do at an early
day, our review of the operations Of the Army Of
the Potomac, as invited by the Investigations
which the War Committee made for the benefit Of
the country, we may perhaps incidentally advert
to the fact that this army has been under the
mand Of "energet;c" and "earnest" (" Generals
since the 7th of November last, the date Of Gen.
McClellan's removal. During this period it has
suffered the disaster of fredericksburg under
Burnside and the defeat of Charlottesville under
Hooker and to-day, after the successful operations
of Gen. Meade in driving the enemy out of Penn
sylvania and Maryland, it finds itself almost pre-
csey where it was left by Gen. Mcclellan nearly
a year ago So signally does this fact emerge
from the military situation that the Morning
Chronicle of this city thinks it proper to say that
our military operations 10 Virginia have literally
accomplished nothing" The Union and re-
bel armies, it says, have "surged back and
forth " without "making foot of progress"
Nothing has been accomplished "except sundry
defeats and successful escapes on either side"
THIS is its view of the operations conducted alike
under Mcdowell, Mcclellan, Pope, Burnside,
| Hooker and Meade Heretofore it has been COM
mon with certain people to suppose that if Rich
mond was not taken" if the rebel army was not
"bsgged," and if Virginia was not subugated,' =
it was simply because Gen. Mcclellan held hi.
forces back" But since Burnside and Hooker
and Meade have, es the Chronicle alleges, (" &C
complished nothing" aud made not foot Of
progress" it is discovered that there have beer
some other cause, at work-such as the fact thai
the two armies in presence of each other have
been "more evenly matched than any other two
that have met in battle" and the fact that the
physical formation of Eastern Virginia fits it for
long and stubborn defence" To this effect We
quote from the Chronicle of Friday last:
"It singular fact over which the future poets and
historians Of The rebellion may puzzle their brains
from the very beginning military operations have
pshed moth 10 the very theatre of war where the
gigantic forts have been put forth The loyal and be
armies have suged back and forth the devastated sol
Of Virginia, and neither of them has up to this time made
foot Of progress They have fought many bloody battles
their leaders have made may bunders and the has beel
immense loss Of life and treasure. They have been fight
ing each other for two whole years. and yet nothing hal
been accomplished except sundy defeats and successful
escapes either side Richmond Is untouched and Wash
sae though either might probably have been taken
than The for this singular
state Of things many but it will probably be years be
fore they fully comprebended One explanation un
doubtedy to be found the fact that the energies of both
des have been ncenrated around Richmond ard Wash
ngton aud that therefore the two armies evenly
matched than any other two that have met in battle Ne
tber Ri, hmond nor Washington ha- any value military
base Of operations but the moral eff ct that would unques
tonaby bs produced by The capture Of either Of them ha
the contrndinQ parties The physical formation of East
ern Virginia fits for long and stubborn defence 1t il
ntersected by streams and mountain aud
is posi- ion Of importance taken than the eoemys pcket
iD sight, screening other pont Of defence but
few miles distant"
We have nothing to say as to the justice Of sucf
representation, except that we do not think il
applicable to Generals Mcclellan and Meade. w,
think both these officers have accomplished some
thing besides "defeats and escapes" not so mucl
indeed as we could wish, yetstll something whicl
the peopl, will not soon forget. But we mus
question the perspicacity Of those who laud Get
tysburg while they ignore Antetam. On thi
point we have only to cite for appreciation the sub
Joined just reflections Of our excellent contempt
raIy, the Boston Daily Advertiser:
"Mr. Stile, in Of his excslent pamphlets remind
readers that tn, country has yet fully
hsndej the importance Of the victory which crowned ou
arms Mt Antetam. The is to be said Of the bat
lie Of Gettysburg The public quickly forget tn,
anxetes Of yest rdy in the hopes of day that event
MT Judged # independently and upon their merits
We forget substantial for rejoicing aud gratitude
our disappointment at failing to achieve some further
object The drlverance brought by An'ietam although
i rempned great and important ever was forgotten
when the emy escaped across the Potomac under
OF the night aud in danger of forQet M
be real significance Of the crisis which the skill Of ou
General and tie resoue courage Of soldiers turned II
favorable direction at Gettysburg, while the second es
cape o Lee and the disappointment Of chershed hopes