Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1863-06-11
Abolition Libels on our Soldiers.

The Ab0llti0n press OF tne country, "hho
the negro troops and anticipating
from their employment In the field the greatest
results, seem bent upon making out that our
soldiers in the Army of the Potomac are sadly
wanting In courage and efficiency. A corres-
pondent Of the Springfield, Massp Republican,
we'll known Abolition journal, Immediately
after the recent battles on the Rappahannock,
instituted q comparison between the Federal
and Confederate troops, much to the disadvan-
taRe of the former, and the Boston IfaustIer,
another paper of the same stripe, In an editorial
article, pronounced IL Q. .humiliatng fact that
our troops were overpoKered by the superior
yalor Of the Confederate soldiers. .'.'
The Philadelphia North American, paper
kept sfloat by Government patronage, in its is
sue Of Saturday, June 6, publlshed tho follow
ing iibel upon our troops:
We have very much yet to learn. The bay
met of which go much has been said, has
proyed, In fact, almost nulllty in the war
Our troops con neither bs got 10 use IL nor 70
stand aoainst Il. In many actions they hav0
obeyed orders 10 charge, and done Il well; but
In all such CAGES the enemy has never stood
the charge. At the point Of the bayonet we
have done very little actual fighting. All the
suceesses of "Stonetoal" Jackson uere achieved
by bayonet charges, ,ohich our men haue refused
10 d,oait and Yeceipc Very much Of what is
written about desperate bayonet charges, and
hand d-to-hand fighting between the contendlng
ranks, is pure romance, as the surgeons on both
sides have repeatedly proven. Yet the use Of
the bayonet ia what we ought to learn, and must
learn If we hope for permanent military supe-
rority.
But the above ia ss nothing compared with
what Is published, as coming from returned
Massachusetts, officer who was taken prisoner
on the RappAhs snnock. That officer says or Is
made to say:
Doubtless great many reasons are given for
our most disgraceful and disastrous defeat at
Chaucellorylle. There is only one real res-
son, and that the simplest possible. Our army
didn't foM as tpell as that Of our enemies. We
had eueyy possible advantage. Our numbers
,ueye more than double theirs, till Longstreet's
reinforcements came up. which didn't then
bring their forces up to l0O,0O to oppose our
10000 Indeed, 1t would now eeem that
Longslreet didn't come up at all We had the
ddpantaqe OF position, aud no inconsideraole
amount of intrenchment.
Again We are told by tho same authority,
that
We had men enough, well enough equipped and
we'll enough posted, to hape depouTed the ragged,
imperttetiy armed and equipped host Of our enc.
mics from OF the face Of the earth. Their artil-
lery horses are poor, starved frames OF beasts,
tied Oh to their carriages aud caissons With
odds aud ends Of rope and strips OF Iaw-hlde.
Their supply and ammunition trains look like
congregation of all the crippled California
emigIant liains that ever escaped oil the desert
out OF tho clutches Of The rampaging Comanche
Indians. The men are addressed, ill-equipped,
and i'll provided, q set of ragamufins that
man is asham ed TO be seen among, even when
he is a prisoner and can't help 1t. And they
haze beaten us fairly, beaten us all 10 pieces,
beaten as so easily that ,os are objects Of contempt
epea to their cOmmonest pTiuate soldiers, toth no
shirts TO hang out Of the hotes in their pantdloons,
and cartridge boxes tied round their Waise with
strsnds of ropes. say they beat US easily, for
there hasn't been much of fight up here on
the bank of the Rappabannock after all, the
ne aspaptrs TO the contrary Notwithstanding.
The foregoing arc only samples Of the II
bells that are busly put forth By the Abolition
press to depreciate as much as possible our
brave soldiers, in order to shield from merlted
rebuke the incompetency and want of foresight
10 those by whom our military movements are
directed and controlled. These Wholesale
ISLANDERS upon the Army ofthe Potomac are ae
false as they are slandeIous. That army al
ways tough! with unfinching bravery under
General McCLELLAN, and the terrible losses
IL sustained In the bloody battles on the Rap
pahannock, under Generals Burnside and
HooKER, chow that the soldiers still possess
their old courage and determination. After
having made ont that our soldiers were inferior
to rebel troops, the Aboltionists will probably
next urge the superiority of the negro recruits
to both.