The weekly Ottumwa courier. [volume] (Ottumwa, Iowa) 1857-1872, 1864-10-06

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their focks. Meantime, the rebel batteries
below Washington, on the Potomac, blocka
ded our Capital AT last the Navy Depart
ment, stung with sense ofshame at beTiue
thus beseiged. got Mcclellan to agree t
the arrangement Of a joint expedition
against these batteries. The naval forc,t
sailed at the time appointed, bnt when they
arrived in front Of the rebel batteries, there
were no land forces there. They though,
some terrible accident must have befaller
McClellan's army. and sent back their conri
4 ers in hot haste to. know what, the matter
was, Mcclellan told them that he had con;
cluded after all that it wasn't safe to move
for. he was afraid that he copldn'. find a
good place to land if they did move. But
| Mcclellan knew that by all laws Of military
etiquette, the, naval commanders having
planned the expidition, it was, their husi.
ness and not his, to select place for, land.
ing the troops. Well, they agreed on an.
other time to make the attack, and the. IA
val forces sailed again, and again Mcclellan
failed to cooperate. And SO the Potomac
renamed blockaded, and our capital shut
in by rebel batteries, and England and
France were on the point cf recognizing the
Southern Confederacy, because they were
strong enough to blockade US in our Capt.
tai.
THE ARMY MovEs--THE QUAKER GUNS.
But / cannot 60 into details Of thesse, mat
ters as, wish / could. AL the fall and into
January, our army lay idle, and everyone
remembers what magnificent weather. we
were having. Spring was approaching and
still there were M signs that the army would
move. and Mcclellan still said that it
wouldn't do to advance. At last Senator
Chardler and went to President Lincoln,
and urged the necessity Of it's beng pressed
forward. And he said s''lt shall novel,
Then Mcclellan summoned aeancil of war,
Ibis leading Generals, and so manipulated
and managed it, that eight out of twelve of
them expressed the opinion that twonld be
dangerous and disastrous to go over the riy-
er. But Mr.. Lincoip overruled the counsels
OF war, and under his explicit mandates,
Mcclellan moved across the river to attack
the enemy. He approached. with fear and
trembling those fortifcatons stronger than
Sebastopol. And there he found nothing
but painted wooden guns, and fortiHcations
so slender that they never could have borne
the weight Of siege guns, and never did
They were built for scare. crows, and they
were enough to frighten away the young
Napoleon The committee on the conduct
Of the war discovered this humbug even be-
fore McClellan did. For while the army
was even then marching upon Manassas, a
Massachusetts man, endorsed as worthy of
belief bv The Massachusetts Congressman,
came before the committee and told them
that the guns were all wooden, and that
there wasn't rebel soldier at Manassas, and
hadn't been for two weeks. We took him
before the Cabinet, and they couldn't believe
HIM. But soon there came another witness
= man known to you ard to fame Bayard
Taylor--and he declared that the guns were
only Quaker, and that there never were any
4. f r - .
siege guns there and couldI't have been. SO
our army marched out there, like the King
of France with forty thousand men, and IN
big storm they marched back again
Now Mcclellan wanted to try the PENN
sular route TO Richmond. But Mr.. Lincoln
saw that there was an important rebel army
lying near Washington which must be
watched. He said to Mcclellan: In my
Judgement ihe true line Of aavance Is to At
tack the rebel army, meantime interposfng
our army between the rebels and Washing
ton. But am not miIitary man, and YOU
are, and # yorr council of war is UNANIMOUS
on this subject, you may take your own
route to Richmond, If you viii leave an army
corps here ID defend the capital " mention
this because an attempt has been made to
deceive the people about this matter. Mr..
Lincoln only gave. Mcclellan permission toI
70 on condition of united recommendation of
his COUNCIL Of war;, But Mcclellan paid no
attention to the condition. He, never called
council Of vsr on this subject. | believe
that bad he done SO, four Of the commanders
Of corps could have voted that the route
which Lincoln first suggested, and Grant 50
glorit usly carried out, was the best oae.uon
THE rEsIssuLAR cAspAIesassrras 81 YoRK.
TOWN. strD .bs7s
In spite of this condition Mcclellan took
hisatRy end sailedIswaE to Yorktpwn.- =
How many men did he take therss We sbsvs
bjpdpbitable testimony that be took at Isssi
120 600 on the, start. Hoy many rebels
were there to encounter himi We have The
Testimony sof Mr.. 'Bous shton, as truthful 4
man Is evef lived, tRsh' Senator 'YfBn chat
part oflvngins,a ,aand since dead! 1Hieiboasd.
ed ~ the same taEie with MaEfhden snd the
other rebellsaders It theEime sf xbolshdiog.
Mcclellan and Magrpdsr hsd no more idea
that be could stay there than IN, the internal
regions The rebels, had TO aH9t exceeding
nine thousand men. Thisinformation came
direct from the rebel leaders, who boarded
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