Indiana State sentinel. (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1861-1865, 1863-03-30

A GREAT Loss TO THE UNION ARMY-How THE
ADMINISTRATION APPRECIATES MILITARY GIN
iUs-GREAr DEPRESSION AT WASHINGTON ON
ACCOUNT or the REvERsEs on THE MISSISSIPPI.

ADMINISTRATION APPRECIATES MILITARY GIN
IUs-GREAT DEPRESSION AT WASHINGTON ON
ACCOUNT or THE REvERsEs on THE MISSISSIPPI.
Special Correspondence Of the Chicago Times.
WASHINGTON, March %.
By the death of Edwin V. Sumner. the Union
army has lost its greatest and best General-ex
cepting always. of course, Gen. Mcclellan. Set
ting Gen. Mcclellan aside. there was no General
in the service who possessed the qualities of a
great commander in so eminent a degree as Zen.
Sumner. His whole life had been pissed in the
military service OF the country. During the long
period of forty four ysars he had served with dis
tinction in the various grades of Lieutenant. Cup
tain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Briga-
dier General. and Major General. He knew per
fectly the duties of the Offices of each OF these
grades, and he exacted the faithful performance
Of these duties from every officer under his com
mand. Hence it was that, during the Peninsular
campaign, no army corps (unless il was that OF
Franklin'sl was so efficient as his; and hence it
was, that during Burnside's campaign in Novem-
Der and December last, Summers grand division
rendered such eminent services No General
contributed more to the success of the Peninsa-
lar campaign than Gen. Sumner. At some IT,
ture period, when the present rush of events has
subsidized, / may entertain your readers with some
account of the brilliant services of Gen. Sumner
and his corps, for which l have abundant materI-
ais.
Pre- eminently a soldier himself, General Sum-
ner had a perfect appreciation OF military merit IN
others. He discerned the extraordinary genius OF
General Mcclellan, and fought under him with
the Consciousness that he was serving under a
master of the art of war. But he had no conf
cence in the shallSw capacity of Burnside. He
served under him with a%lacrity aud cheerfulness
indeed. but with the profound conviction that the
campaign would be "A failure. Had the execu-
ton of that campaign been intrusted to General
Sumner instead of to Burnside. it would have
succeeded BY a rapid march General Sumner
brought his two corps d. armee from Warrenton
to Falmouth before the enemy at Fredericksburg
were even aware of his purpose to approach the
Rappahannock He had takenthe Confederate
troops completely by surprise. There were ONLY
a few hundred of them at Fredericksburg and No
Notifications whatever. He could have crossed
the Rappahannock and taken possession of tn,
heights of Fredericksburg without opposition OF
the 18th of November, and have so fortified those
heights in five davs rs to have rendered their pos
session secure. He wished to do this But Burn
side forbade him. Burnside DELAYED and dallieC
from that time till the 18th of December, will
what result the world well knows.
Gen. Sumner remained with the Army of thu
Potomac till Hooker was appointed to fill Oh,
place once held by Gen. McClellanl There wal
but one course then left for the veteran. II,
knew Hooker well. He knew that, small a
Burnside's capacity was, it was ten times that o
Hooker. There was no place for him under sucl
u tyro as Hooker, and he asked to be relieved o
his command.
If the administrator had any appreciation
whatever of military merit, instead Of acceptin;
this resignation, they would have placed Genera
Sumner at once at the head of the army. Blu
their appreciation of military merit is shown b.
the fact that. only a few days before Gen. Sum
ner's death, the Administration banished him u
the unimportant Department of Missouri am,
that they have now decided to send Gen. Heint
zelman therel The administration is determine
TO take all the talent away from the Army of III
Potomac. Now that Mcclellan, Sumner. Heint
zelman, Porter and Franklin are dispOsed of, Their
remain neither first-r tie nor second rate General
in that army. The ablcst General in the Arm
of the Potomac now is General Stoneman. com
handing one of the corps d'armee; and in tn
next, or fourth rank of ability. are Gen. SickleS
Gen. Birney. Gen. Couch, Gen. Wilcox. Gen
Hancock. Gen Slocum, Cen. Robinson, Ger
Berry, Gen. Griffin, Gen. Sykes, Gen. Reynolds
Gen. Sedgwick and Gen. Hooker himself-al
fully competent to command and maneuver a di
vision Of IL 900 men, but not competent for an
higher commaDd
The administrator people here are dreadful
chagrined at the defeats. reverses, and repulse
which our troops have suffered on the Mississippi
What makes the matter worse, is the fact tina
the administration lent its countenanee an
sanction to the absurd stories that were telt
granhed from here all over the country, a fe'
days ago, to the effect that Vicksbrrg was evacu
ated; that the bombaFdment of Port Hudson wa
progressing with every prospect of a speedy an
successful issue; that the Yizoo expedition ha
been successful, had psssed Haines' Bluff, an
had captured twenty eight Rebel Transports; tn;
the Yazoo Pass expedition had been successful
had sailed down tie Tallahatchie into the YazoC
and had captured Yazoo City. All-these storit
are now known to be shameful fakrications.
Is now admitted by the Administration that AZ
miral Porter was mistaken in regard to the sigh
guns which he thought he heard; that the FORTH
cations of both Vicksburg and Port Hudson Al
such as will render those places nearly impregni
BILE; that Admiral Farragut has met with a disa
trous defeat at the latter point: that the guns
our river squadrons cannot be sufficiently eleva
ed to enable them to reach the Port Hudson ba
teries at all: that the Yazoo River expedition HI
not got as far up as Haines' Bluff; that the VI
200 Pass expedition has only got as far down u
Tallahatchie river as Fort Pemberton at its jun
ton with the Yazoo; that between that Fort ar
Yazoo City there are known to be two other co
ton clad forts; that these three forts will all ha'
TO be taken before Yazoo City is reached; al
that Yazoo City itself is also strongly forti6e
Hence you hear doubts now expressed as
whether. after all, the Mississippi river can ey
be opened.
But there is no question on that point. III
opening Of the Mississippi is a military enierpris
and it will be successful as soon as the prop
military means are used. The error of the A
ministration has been in undertaking. aud unde
rating the military power Of the enemy and d
skill of the Southern Generals X