Memphis daily appeal. [volume] (Memphis, Tenn.) 1847-1886, 1863-10-22

At forty mas is either 3 physician or fool,
says the proYerb. After two years and six
months of war, we have either learned some
thing of the art Of Sighting, and the disposition
Of the enemy, or else ne arc inca pablo Of learn.
ing any thing. Let us TuH rapidly over the list
Of The srihcipsl battles and sss what lessons are
iHeulcatsd, and what inferences must be drawn.
At Manassas we chose q strong defensive
position, which the eaeuey tUrse5, and attacked
rs on even ground with superior EumbsEs. He
wss completely routed At Belmont we were
surprised, and the day wOula have gone against
US bat for the rapid arrival Of eur reinforce
ments, by which the enemy says be was ever
whelmed. The ground was even, OF nearly so,
and the foe was driven back with heavy loss.
At 0ak hills we were attacked simultaneously Y
il rear Asak and front, but By obstinste bravery
succeeded in winning E great victory. The
ground was tOleEsbly even, and he forces nearly
SO. Evans, With sn inferior fsrcs, attacked the
enemy at LsesbSrg on ground advantageous to
US, 60 far as Balls klsR was c0zcersed, and de-
feated him terribly.
Fort Doaelsen was an estTaBcked camp,
poorly fortified in msRy parts. Enormous ids
Of the enemy attacked it by land and water, aud
after bsiEg badly beaten fer two Of three days,
and sustaining loss equal to the whole force
opposed ts him, WAS surprised by the esPitUla-
ii8n Of plsce he he'd failed ts carry by storm.
more thsn esuatsFssane8d the advantage we
had in position. At Skieh we surprised a soRas-
what superior force Of the enemy, drove them
IN confusion to the cover Of tbsir gun boats, and
gained a brilliant victory. Oar army beeSme 3
mob Of plunderers, upon which the heavily re-
iniOrcsd enomy fell the next day, and, sfer des-
psrats fighting, succeeded osly in forcing them
to abandon the spoils they mad won the day be-
fore TIE odds sgsiust US on tFs second dsy
were two or thTes TO ore; we had ne'particRiar
advantage in ground, yet We held our own aud
retired at leisure
The battle of Seven Pines was an attack UPON
the szemy intrenehed. We earrisd the in!reaeh-
rnents aha gained the day. At Grst tbs odds
were on oar side, bet before the close Of the bat
tie the enemy probably outnambered rs. The
battles beiere Richmond WsTe q series of assaults
upsn chosen positions, IN some cases powerfully
fortified, and IN all defended by sn Immense
smesnt Of artillery The energy were driven
back from point to point by direct assaults com
bined with flank movements U5on each single
point, except Aslven bill, We threw eesa If
not superior numbers, and c0uuterbslaneed The
advantage of their position.
The second great battle of Manassas com
msBced by an attack Of She enony on Jaeks1ns
wing Of Lees army. Successive attacks were
repulssd. Lss assumed ghe offensive, attacked
the enemy On the very ground where we had de-
fssted bis attack the year previous and whip
psd him Ehsmefsly. At Shsrrsburg ere hun
dred thousand men, Hndsr Mcclellan, attacked
Lee with less than forty thousand The eneny
had the advantage Of gTouRd, as well as num-
ngmbers. Nevertheless, he was reBuls9d We
held our RosisiaR throughout ths day, and retired
st leisure slm0st Ganoiastsd.
Perryville, like Williamsburg, wss aa attack
upOn his rear guard. The odds were largely
sgainas IS, but tha enesy was defeated, and left
the seld in one direction, while nc retreated in
another. MHrfr0ssboro' was an attack upon our
part, with inferior forces, EDoa She enemy, in
well selected and naturally strong position. We
drove in bis wings, captured many cannon and
men, but fsilsd to carry bis stronghold. He re-
tired, selected a position stiIl stronger, which
was rsshlv, almost foolishly, attacked by 8 sim
gle division. We failed necessarily, snd our
whole army retired to TullshOms. At FrodsT-
icksburg the enemy ssssiie1 Us ca advantageous
aud slightly fortified ground, asd wsz whipped
back 80 easily that our soldiers fsneied they had
been engaged in a mere skirmish. The enemy
was very powerfully fortified at ChancefiorsviIlo
and outu5mbeTe3 as three to ore, but he was
fanked, whipped aisgraeefully, and driven from
his iRtrenchmenfs across the river.
The FIRST dsy at Gettysburg was like the last
day at MHrfrsesboro' A divisoR, unsustainsd,
destroyed itself in an assault upon powerful
8 hundred cannon, The battle taken as q
whole, was made in igBor1nes Of the enemy q
feTce and iRtenti0a. Numbers we're nearly
even, but tho ground was not, and oar attacks
were not well planned and sustained at
ChicksmsugS, if we may trust General Bragg,
Bn inferior force attacked Rosserans in e chosen
position and drove him swsy with the loss Of
men and csnRon. His army was somewhat
domoralized and routed. This ia the brief Tes-
ton of the principal battles Of ths war. It will
be seen that in every Instance, without e1eep-
ton, where the South hsd equal uumbeTs, even
ground and capable generals, the eBemy has
been easily whipped. In many instances the
odds, both as to ground and numbers, have been
greatly sgsiRst as, bgt gsnsralship on cur side
has carried the day. The courage Of our troops
has never yet failed rs in any great battle. Bad
plans ard rash attacks at Marfrsesboro and Get
tysbuTg, have lest as bard WoR victories, which,
it wholly wos, would have been the most iHpoT
tsnt Of the war. The lessons taught by these
battles are too plain 10 be mistaken. We must
fight the enemy on open ground with evon
numbers if possible If we are acting on the
defeRsive, we eRght to compel the enc
my always to attack as on our owR
grsHsd Good geRerslship can accomplish
this. Hasty and imperfect plans and rash
attacks are to be avoided. Delays are danger
OEs, but delay is better than the needless sacri-
fee Of men. Time is precious, but life esnnot
be replaced. Money csn be made ont of paper,
men eaRsot. Debt is better than failure, betlor
even than the loss of territory, which furnishes
both soldiers and food. But TO ins7To decisive
victories, the paramount aim sheRld be TO force
the enemy to fight us on our own ground, or to
fight him on even ground with equal, or nearly
equal, numbers. These are the conditions Of
success ss deduesd from the history of tbs great
battles OF the Wsr. When these conditions are
attsined hlosd Hesd not be husbsndsd, fer it viii
fetch its full price in vie.ory.-RiebmOad Wkig,
1874