Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1863-01-27
Wrecn nlt. freeman
MONTPELIER, VT.
Tuesday Morning, january, az 1908.
The Army of the Potomac,

accomplished less IN suosahllal auN ahlhBeS
against the enemy than has been achieved in any
other department Why is this We believe
the question may be answered IN single SEN
tence--it has been more poorly differed than any
other army. We don't mean by this that i! has
not had some good officers, and even many, who
might, if they had been so disposed, have made
the war in Virginia as successful 10 our arms as
elsewhere, bat we do mean that, for the purpose
Of suppressng treason in the most effective way,
il has been, in the main, in charge Of tho wrong
ehieitains.
This fact is being every day made more appa'
rent in the progress Of the Investigations which
have been going on at Washington, before courts
martial, for the last few weeks. The most notl-
bic case,and the one which, in its results SO far as
the solemn judgment Of court Of military men
can establish anything, proves that some of the
officers Of the Army of the Potomac were not fit
for the duty which they had to perform, is the
case of Fuz John Porter who has just been dis
missed the service. The charges against this Off
Ger were preferred by Cen Pope, and distinctly
and with particularly specified the instances in
which Gen. Porter prac cay refused to fight the
entm, in obedience to the command Of his supe-
riof officer, when, il he had obeytd the rebel az
my might have been disasrously defeated at the
second battle Of Bull run. fhe court found these
charges proved and visited up Gen. Porter, by
their .dgment, the heaviest punishment, short Of
death, which military officer can suffer. n.
Porter vas, uDque,tonably in skill an excellent
officer. This he had proved before the present
war, and he gave signal evidence Of it on the Pc
nin,u.a. His refusal to aid Pope was not because
oil any cowardice, or any lack Of ability to com
prehend the necessity or value Of his services, but
simply beclu-c the commands came from John
purposely declined to aid the Union forces in a
critics, moment, when, in the judgment Of militia
ny men, that aid night have decided the battle
and made glorious victory Of what turned out to
be a disastrous defeat. This is the simple and
unexaggerated statement Of the finding of the
court which tried him, and will remain the verdict
Of history.
Very soon after Mcclellan took command OF
the Army in Virginia politicians began to work,
We bel eve with the full aud hearty approval Of
that General, to make the army an engine which
should control the Government instead OF being
controlled by it-ghch should dictate the policy o f
the war TO the Cjmmlnder-in.C Chief in the White
House, instead Of yielding unquesioning obed-
encc to the head of the civil power in the Nation
We now k' ow that the long delay on the Poto-
mac last winter was due wholly TO Mcclellan,
who moved at last only after repeated perer pto.
~ orders, and who it is now impossible to believe
could have had any military reason for this delay.
And we know now tina; from that time forward
until he was relieved from his command, bis one
great offence was di,obedience OF orders from his
superior oificers-one Of the gravest Of military
crimes. In revolutionary times the seeds Of in-
subordnauon, when once sovu, spring up rapidly
and hasten to their fruitage, and we cannot won.
der, when the Chief Of the Army Of the Potomac
sets the example, TINT his subordina,es should
make haste to follow bis teachings. In short
Mcclellan and the pro.slavery politicians hat
played with the army tn. part of the dog in tn,
manger-they would not themselves use il eff
GENTLY against the rebels, nor would they suiTe
anybody else to use it for that purpose WI
can only judge Of men by their conduct AMI
we can best judge Of teaching, by their fruits
We know that Fiiz John Porter vas one of tn,
mos, intimate and confidential friends of Nc
Cellan, as he was one Of his most trusted officers
ard when we find this same Gen. Porter prefer
ring 10 let the Union forces suffer severe defea
rather Than contribute to victory which shout
bring fame to any other chieftan than Mcclellan
We can but condemn the teaching which shout
have educated him to that nfdeli,y to his countr,
and which-if other evidence we're lacking Of Nc
Ciellin's sympathy with the conduct Of his subor
innate oihce' is abundanlly proved by his subsc
qaent approval Of Pouer's conduct. Tha, the e
feelveness Of this army has been seriou; impaired
assn agency in lighting treason, by these trick
Of some OF It's officers, il seems to US idle to den,
And il is no answer TO these charges, and no mi
ignon, but rather an aggravation Of the oiIens,
that M'CelIn was more popular than any olhe
GENERAL with his men, for, we regre, TO say
Is this very popularity which has, in is result
proved mischievous to the Union cause. II h
had been true man aud patriot, and had neve
given evidence Of preferring himself, to his eouu
Try, no matter wha, might have happened to hi
chief Gen. Porter would never have dsser,e
Pope, but woula have Tough, at Manassas a, h
did at Malvern Hill.
II the m,lign influences which for nearly yea
had been operating upon the Army Of the Po,c
mac, and educating it to the point where It's oil
Gers couli hold their troop. within sound Of III
enem,s guns, and not ouly refuse to obey Ii
mminds of superior officers, but actually will
draw their command from the vicinity Of n
enemy without striking blow for the a,g III,
carried, had ceased entirely to work in that san
army, il would hardly BE- worth while 10 discu
them a, this moment. But we are compelled
believe that the poison, which, though slowly y
surely, for many months wa, poured into the Ii
blood OF the army, has no, yet los, it, power
iadeed II Is not nov dai being infused into Ii
soldiers along 'hi R'pplh,onock. How much
the sane spirit which animated Porter ye, renal
IN The army Of The Potomac to still neu,ralize |,
efforts Of those who would employ tina, army