Daily State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-06-30

HooKIR HAD MANY oFroHrrxIriis OF PRK
,ESriSG AND STOPPING rns MARcH Brr DIP
I Nor UsE THM-How GENERAL LKE PRoPo-
! SIS TO ISOLATE WASHINGTON AND BALriMoRE-
/ EFFEcrs oS rHE Isolation.
Special correspondence Of The Chicago Times.
WAsHiSGroN, June 20.
As the plans OF General Lee in bis invasion OF
the North become developed das by day. il Is /
impossible no. To- admit the military skill and 4
foresight With winch al his movements are con- /
I Quoted. aud. at the same time. eau fail 10
execrate the imbecsliiy and culpsbty OF Geu. I
Hooker in permitting the Rebel General ~ ad-
\ vance thus unmoested and 1T his leisure from |
\ Calpepper 20 WarreRton, from " arrentoR 10 |
Winchester. from Winchester TO Wiliiamsport on
\ the Upper Potomac, from the Potomac iuto
Maryland. from Maryland into Pennss wanna, and
from Chsmbe.sburg toward the Susqnehanna
river Every intelligent man must stand amazed
at the apathy. or STUPIDITY. or laundering con
duct, on the part OF Hooker. which has led bun.
with the finest army the planet TO oppose /
not the slightest obstacle % the progress OF Gen.
Lees army during the movements OF the latter
for the last three weeks, and this, too. when IL
has been IA his power 10 have stayed the TIDE OF
! Rebel invasion az a dozen different points BY
making the proper disposition of has army be
tween the 9th aud 18th Of June, he could have
| prevented the crossing OF the HappAuahboch bi
Gen. Lees army; movement which was exc
cuted about the l3tn or l4tn inst Instead oil
doing this on the 18th lust Hooker commenced
hls retreat from Falmouth toward Washington.
Gen Ewel must have started OH his expedition
up the Shenandoah Valley, 10 Winchester aud
Martinsburg, some days previously; probably as
early the 9Th or 9th inst, Immediately after
the cavalry fight at Reaton, near keys Ford,
on the Rappahannock For he had captured
Winchester on the 18th, and Marlnsburg the
l6h.
ct of the fact and the progress of tins exle
dition of EwelPs, Hooker was profoundly gnO-
rant until the 18th inst. Between the 18th and
and l7th inst the main body OF Gen. Lee army
was steadily moving from Warrenton towards
Winchester, passing through Ashby's Gap OF the
Blue Ridge, and crossing the Shenandoah at
Front Royal. Duriug this time Gen. Lee not
only held ThOrOughlare Gap and the gap at
Aide, in the Bull Run mountains, but he also
made such demonstrations towards Bull Run
gave good grounds Tor the belief that he really
intended to Washington by way OF
| Ceutrevie If, therefore. instead OF retreatng
preciptaely to the capital, General Hooker had
moved his army, between the ith and l7th inst
from Falmouth 10 Ceutrevile, he could have Oc
cupled and held the heights there, and By sending
a strong force through Thoroughiarc Gap, he
could not only have penetrated the mystery OF
Lees movement. but he could also have fallen
|
ter was stretched oht in long line extending
from Warrenton to the Shena ndoah. and inflicted
upon IL, while in that exposed condition, an injury
that would have destroyed IFS efficiency atoseth.
er. But Hooker did nothing of the kind. He
turned up his nose at Centreville, did not even
stop at Fairfax, but Rugged close tue W ashington
forts.
BY the 18th inst, the whole of Lees Army
had passed through Ashby's Gap in the Blue
| f,f and had soi al
their way Winchester. Their was
passing through that place. Their advance had
already reached Martinsburg. The rear guards,
hitherto posted Oh he western slope of the Bull
Run mountains holding Thoroughiare Gap and
the gap at Adj, were Withdrawn, ami were
posted between The Blue Ridge aud the Sbenan
dOah river holding Ashby's Gap and Suckers
Gap. Then il that. for the first time, faint
glimmering Of The truth seemed to dawn on
Hooker mind. The Confederales had pur-
sued hun in his retreat To Washington They
had not even attacked bis OrtpJsts az Fairfax
The reconnoissances of Gen Stah had failed to
discover them either at Centerville, or at Bull
Run. or at Drainsville. or at Leesburg. at any
point east of the Kttock tin Mountains. Where
them were theyI
To solve this doubt. Hooker at last sent Cen.
Pleasanton'st cavalry toward the Blue Ruge
Mountains At Aldie. they encountered the
rear guard Of Gen. Lees army, which was then
on the point of leaving that post to move to Ash
bys Gap. A fight ensued, and the Rebels re
treated across the Blue Ridge. The reconnois
since deter mihed the fact that Gen Lees army
was not east of the latter range of mountains.
A General of ordinary military sagacity would
J have penetrated Gen Lees design at once. Gen.
Lee would not hive taken his whole army over
that long route to Mirtinsburg it lie ever intend
ed coming back to Washington the south side
of the Potomac. Washington, therefore, might
J | fol- ha Loft, .ho of (an
mans corps. Hooker had failed TO prevent Gen
Lee from crossing the Rappahannock General
Lees whole army bad even crossed the Shenan-
doah But there one thing left that Hooker
} could do He could still prevent the Confederate
e army from crossing the Potomac From WASH
ington to Wiamsport and Falling Waters, by
way of Rockville and Frederick CITY, is ONLY
sixty miles-an EASY three days march. Start
ing on the 18th. Hooker could have had his whole
army massed on the left bank of the Potomac,
betw cen Williamsport and Shepardstown by the
20th, certainly bv the Cpd. And Gen Lee could
never have crossed the Potomac in the face of
J that force.
But Hooker did no such thing as that. Gen.
Lees army arrived AT WIlhamsport ON the 22i
inst On the % he crossed the Potomac at
three fords, without the least opposition, and on
the 24th his whole army was in Maryland The
news OF TODAY j. that his columns we're moving
northward yesterday. toward ChamberSbugg, in
PeunsY lvania, with the apparent intention OF
advancing to Harrisburg. But you may rel,
upon il, that is not the destination of the Rebel
army at present The grand proportions of the
pan OF the Rebel cheltain now begin TO develop
themselves. Gen Lee aims 10 capture Wash
ngtop, but not only 10 capture il, but To hold it
Capture il he might have done even days ago,
j with only Hooker to defend it But he could
never have held il. The whole North would
have risen man, and rushed TO " ASKING
ton to pluck that SlitterinS prize from his grasp
Ii is to secure the possession of " tshng'ou the
capture OF which he regards certain, that Gen
Lees movements are now directed There is no
. national capital IN the world 20 susceptible of
isolation Washington. Gen Lee is moving
into PENNSYLVANIA in order TO DESTROY the Penn
-vlvsnia Central railroad on both sides of Har-
. rsburg; the Northern Central rsliro ,d le ding
from Harrisburg to Baltimore. aud the Whining
ton railroad. le ding from philadelph 20 BIlti
more. He II do this with his cavalry, or even
u perhaps by bands OF guerrIilas while his main
j army perhaps will advance no further north than
, Chambersburg. and M further east than York
But. the destruction of these railroads being once
accomplished where will both Washington and
Baltimore bef They will be but ripe pears which
viii fall into the hands of the Rebel General
whenever he advances against them. For what
NJ Tor ha tr4ffa- fltp