Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1863-05-28
Generalship in the Late Bat1ies-hook-
er now Ill at FaIwouth-his NARROW
Escapes in the Battles

er now Ill at FaImouth-his NARROW
Escapes In the Battles
"Aeate.v the Washington correspondent
of the Cincinnati Gazette, writing On the
18th, says:
T suppose we may as we'll balance &C.
counts on the score of Generalship.-
Hooker clearly outgeneraled Lee in the
crossing, and earlier movements on Chan
celIorsvile. 1t is almost as clear now that
Lee outgeneraled Hooker in pouncing un-
expectedly on the right flank on Saturday,
in concentrating again on Sedgwick on
Monday, while three.fourths of our army
lay utterly idle.
1t is unjust to Hooker, however, to leave
this bare statement without explanation.
Gen. Hooker is now lying very ill at
Falmouth, in consequence, mainly, as is
believed, of the terrible shock he received
from a cannon ball during one Of the ear
her days of the operations of Chancellors-
vile. The ball struck g pillar of the
house, against which he was leaning at
the time. He was knocked to the ground
and remained senseless for taoeuty or thirty
minutes. 1t Is impossible that he could
have recovered from such shock so as to
have been qualified to enter again, Gas be
did, upon duties SO weighty that the
strongest might well bend and tremble
beneath them.
Shortly afterward, Gen. Hooker had 8
still more remarkable escape. Still feeling
weak and dizzy from the shock, he lett
the command temporarily with Couch,
with orders to be called instantly, on the
appearance of any emergency, and lay
down in his tent. Presently he began To
feel faint, slck at the stomach, and OPP
pressed with the hot, close atmosy here OF
the tent, and went out to see if the fresh
air would not relieve him. Within TWEEN
ty minutes after he left, shell passed
through the tent, struck the mattress upon
0hlch he had been Tying, and left ii mass
OF tattered rags!
ABOUT THE RETREAT.
There is :, general settling down into
the conviction that the retreat across the
river was unnecessary. IL was undoubt
edly the act Of prudent General, but
pruuence Is best allied to a wise audacity,
in a case like this. There were, however.
many reasons that seemed to render 1t
necessaIy-the flood, the scarcity of pros
visions, the uncertainty about StonemaD,
and the rest.
More weighty, doubtless, was the reason
which Hooker put first in his explanations
TO the President: that the reverses OF Sat
urday and Sunday had placed the army on
ground near the river, SO broken with "a.
vines and hills that it was impossible to
form line of battle tor an offensive move
ment. He regarded it as impregnable
against attack, but could see no good to
be gained by sustaining an attack there.
There is also reason to believe that he
had convinced himself that there was a
better place to attack Lee than via Kel
ley's Ford and Charlottesville. At least
such an opinion was expressed when the
President was there, and all the stories of
recrossing, that are so abundant now, in
volve movement,on fredericksburg from
an entirely different direction.
WHY AVERILL WAS RELIEVED.
1t is not true that Gen. Averil was re-
lieVed from command for any failure in
tearing up railroad lines or burning bridges
in the direction of Gordonsville. The
real cause OF the removal was that be
Jailed to keep up communications with
either Hooker or Stoneman, while his spe,
cial business was to keep the one advised
of ne others doings.