The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1864-03-23
McClellan's Military Fore.
sight.

SAS hats
A writer in the Round Tube. evidently
an anti-slavery man. while he finds fault
with Gen. Mcclellan for not taking 'more
advanced ground on the slavery questien"
is compelled by the perusal of his report,
to pass the following tribute to his mill
tary prescience. g.
An intelligent and unprejudiced reader
Of this report will be struck with the really
amazing military sagcity of General Nc
Clellan. Upon { e very opening o: the
war he eemed intuitively to have eompre-
hended just wn.t--was to be done, and
how it was to be accomplished. The war
has now so educated US all that we know
tolerably well the military movements
which ought to have been undertaken to
end the rebellion. But when the conflic,
commenced the utmost confusion prevail
ed as to the plans to be pursued. Every
man had his theory, dut Il IS not on record
that any one n,iktary head in The country
comprehended the ,ohote field sque alone
General Mcclellan.
Whe., assigned to command in the Yves.
he at once projected a eampa ga or rather
two campaigns, which, had they been car
ried out " ith success, would have changed
the whcls character of the war. His
sclsme Was, af er pacify;ng Kentucky,
20 seize Nashville and last Tennessee
a not very difficult feat at that time He
also proposed to move an army up the
Kanawha valley 80 as to relieve W washing
ton by threatening the rebel capital. His
comnunications to Gen. Scott on the sub
iect were not needed or even answered
# pom beiga called to the city o.; Washing
ton alter he /. 1t Of Bull Ru:i, he al
once. sketched the situation in lnemor-
an u.n to the p. esi iont, dated Aug, 4th
loo1, which showed that he fully under
stood it in all its bearings. In this doc
iunrnt; and the subsequent coinniunica-
| tiuns and orders he wrote to subordinate
generals will be found his grand plan,
which. il will be seen, anticipated all the
successful movements Of the war. A
lperus"l of his instructions 10 nen. Burn,
side Bmel, Butler, Sherman aud Ualleck
VIII lie lie was in supreme com nand, is like
lreading history in advance. He antici-
p ed all the military contingencies of the
W.,r, a,i r.ryided L.. ;hem.
! Tl,' 8, mont before it was attempted,
he viuc.v- lac ,aAlus Of Fort Pulas1I,
! bnt. at the same time placed upon record
h sreasons for not wishing the occupation
oI savannah: Al Gen. Buffers instruct
ion, he minutely described in advance the
timl ediments to be overcome in capturing
New Orleans. On No one point was he
mistaken, as the event subsequently, prov
ed. His anxiety to capture jackson
Miss, Immediately after New Orleans
was secured, is marked instance of his
military pres icnce. ~.
Had Gen. Butler obeyed his orders
Texas would have b,en cut off from the
con ederacy in the spring of 1862, and nc
blood need have beeu shed at either
Vicksburg or Port Hudson. But the
most remarkable instance of Gen. Nc
Ciellan's military provision, and which
has so far be n strangely overlooked
were the precautions he took to preveni
an attack upon Washington from the di
rection ofthe ohenan loah valley When
thr President detached Gen. Mcdowell
corps from Gen. Mcclellan army, it wa.
upon the ground that it was required 10,
the defense of the CAPITA: yet the corp.
W posted at Ere lcrick bu &, from h., /.
oint Wash ngton was never menaced
while the Shunandeah valley, the true
back door to the capital, as S;onew~.
j ckson prove':, " IS eni r ~ overlooked
A; Frede, icksburg Gen. Mcdowell corp,
was OF no more use than if it had been To-
Gated in New York city, 5..5 -
To this singular oversight of Mr.. Lin
coin and his military. advisers in not guar
dlns the side gate to Washington, as hac
been recommended b. Gen, VI clellar
immslia e efore being deprived of tn.
supreme colama,. to be credited TO 'hs
defeat OF Banks 10y Jstks'n during I'll.
following May, a large part of the, disaster
which occurred to Pope, and the two in
vasions of Maryland by Leo. Yet not
withstanding, all these " ,rnings the gap.
in the Blue ridge are to this day unin
trenched and dundefended; and should Gen
Meade ever be driven back. it will b,
through fanklng movements of the enemy
upon his rear through these open gaps il
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