The Cass County Republican. [volume] (Dowagiac, Mich.) 18??-1880, 1863-04-23

reached Harrisen's Bar, had been re-
ducsd to l02, 900 fit fer duty: and that
Gen. Mcclellan telcgraphed to. Wash
lngtnn. Tor 10000 men, TO be prompt
ly sent" him wnun m racr, as TIRE
ident replied, all the soldiers under Nc
Dowell, Banks, Fremont. Wool and
Dix, and all in Washington. did not ex-
coed 10000
That Mcclellan finally agreed to re-
sune an advance movement with re.
enforcement of 900, but .afterward
wrote to Washingtoa that he must in
addition have another Is, 600 or &c, 900
from the armies in the Valley ofsthe
Mississippi, which was of course I'M
practicable and absurd;
That on being thereupon ordered to
withdraw his army fromthe Peninsula,
"as rapidly as possible" to cooperate
with Pope, who was contending with
superior forces,,he refused to obey until
the order had been repeated again and
again, involving a delay which put
Washington in the most imminent
peril;
That after the troops were at last
: brought up the Potomac, no constantly
interposed the most useless delays to
giving Pope any help, and that, accord
ing TO Gen. Halleck. Pope would have
conquered instead of being defeated,
had Mel lellan acted with all the ener-
gy circumstances permitted;
That after General Mcclellan had
from moved Washingtonwith nearly all
of his army into Northern Maryland, to
intercept Lee, he ITO w ashington
for more reinforeements, saying that
seven If Washington should be taken
while these armies are confronting each
other, this wonld not, in nv Judgment,
bear comparison with the ruin aud dis
asters which would follow single de-
feat of this army"
8 That at Antietam the attacks, instead
of being made concurrently, were made
seriatim and consequently with great
loss ard little effect, and that to Gen.
Buri,sides urgentrequest for reinforce
ments To enable him TO hold very i'm
poriant position he had gained after a
terrible struggle, Gen. Mcclellan re-
piled that no reinforcoments could be
sent, although the corps of Fitz John
Porter, OF Is 900 or &c, 900 men, had
not at that time fired gun, and did
not even cross the river during the en-
tire battle;
That, according TO the opinion of
Gen. Burnside, Gen. Franklin, and
other officers, the enemy could have
been overwhelmed aud destroyed had
the attack beenrenewed next day, bet
that Gen. Mcclellan reiraincd from all
such attack without any good reason,
aud allowed the enemy TO escape.
That, after lying still two weeks, he
asked for authority to build q double
track suspension bridge and aperma-
nent wagon bridge across the Potomac
at Harper's Ferry, with a view to make
that place bis great and permanent
point of concentration;
That Gen. Halleck; disregarding
this extraordinary request, ordered him,
through the President to cross the Pc
tomac a, once, and to advance against
the enemy, but he failed to comply,
urging that his army needed shoes and
other ARTICLES of clothing-when ii W as
shown tina, every requisition had been
promptly met-and that the Presidents
order to cross was not fulfilled until
four weeks after it had been given.
This last delay was more than even
the long suffering President could en-
dure, aud two days after the last corps
OF the army was again on the south
side of the Potomac, Major Gen. Nc
Clellau was ordered to turn over his
command to Major-G Gen. Burnside, and
repair to Trenton, New Jersey. For q
wonder, he obeyed the las.'order with
out pleading inadeqaacy of means, and
demanding reiitorcements.
The persistent efforts to strip the
National Capital of all the necessar,
protection = the repeated failures tc
seize the rebel capital when the oppor
tunity presented itselt-ths uniformly
tardy aud sluggish movement-the con
slant avoidance of attack on his own
part so long as there was any alterna.
tiye-the frequent disposal of his for.
ces in way expressly calculated; il
would seem, to invite damaging at
tack by the enemy-the uniform refu
sal to allow the enemy to be pursued
when beaten, all point in one direction
which is, that Gen. Mcclellan mean,
peaes toith the rebels, and not aoa,
= against them.
There is not such another record o
dereliction aud lnefficiency in all mill
tary history aud it will stand alike ,
marvel and sderision TO future genera
tIous.