Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1863-02-23

Thu government while intending, doubtlsSs select
the very best men, has gone with as much regularity
Us going down pair steps from bad 70 worse, unt II
has finally settled upon Gen. Holmes, Who if not speed
INV relieved is not likely to have successor. With
powerful army composed Of the best material in the
South and reptetented as numerically double that OF
the enemy he seems be rushing everything headong
to destruction
is to be found in his reckless disregard of the sanitary
condition Of his army Upon this subject We cannot be
expected of course to enlarge. 1t Is suthcien TO say
that the condition Of the army has been deporaoe ana
that hundreds Of lives have been unnecessarily Sacr-
feed.
II experience has made any one fact more prominent
than another during this war has been the Importance
of concentrating our armies. Gen. Holmes ignores
This experience by scattering his troops across the State
of Arkansas, from Van Buren, to Arkansas Post.
With the experience Of Fort Donelson before him. he
sends An inferior force to that Post with supply OF
arms and munitions Of war, a. 1t he INTENDED 10 lhVe
| the enemy TO capture them.
He has placed the various commands IN the maiarnl
districts where may be expected that death Will reap
rich harvest Of brave men. Gen. Hindman under his
orders attacks the enemy with inferior force The
is he has to retreat leaving his dead and
wounded on the field and the entire northern press
hus furnished with pretext for claiming great vic
tory And be il remembered there asufhcien force
At Little Rock to have utterly annihiated the Yankee
army that Hindman encountered. The excuse for his
retreat was that ne was unsuppneu Win provisions Or
forage Why he ventured within the vicinity of the
enemy without supplies, is not explained.
With the wealthest portion Of Arkansas, North
Louisiana aud Texas, from which Gen.. Holmes could
OBTAIN supplies, his army has been badly fed and has
suffered for the essentials that necessary to ensure
success.
The country filed with deserters and straggers from
lis army showing thereby the total nefhciency OF his
discipline, and the want Of confidence of his men.
Every intelligent man whom We have seen, who has
come in contact with Gen. Holmes, bears testimony "a
his want of capacity. He is pronounced fogy
an imbecile man without decision Of character And
all agree that if he is kept in his position six months
longer he viii lose his army and everything with which
it is supplied very large quantity of those supplies
have been already wasted or destroyed suffered to
be stolen Everything the government had at Van Blu
rem and Fort Smith has been sacrificed including three
steamboats, and large quantity of arms, commissary
and quartermaster stores.
No general of capacity, entrusted with the defences
of a country, would have suffered handful Of
TO have destroyed the railroad between Monroe aud
Vicksburg We venture TO say that the history of this
war will demonstrate that able commander would
have driven the last Federal beyond the Missouri river
We are grat6ed to notice that the newspaper press
Arkansas is beginning to crtcise his military admins
raton We sincerely hope the press of Louisiana and
Texas will follow their example, and that every inteli
gent capable of writing letter TO the President OF
War Department will review his career, and earnestly
plead for a change. We shoad either have efficient
commander on this side Of the Mississippi every mar
ought to be taken TO the other side of the river and
| bodied in one grand army.