The Opelousas courier. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1852-1910, 1864-06-25

tageous position. Gen. Gilmore, scho Is snoson
to be one of the most scientific officers in the army,
pressed upon his SUPERIOR Gen. Butler, the mecss-
sity of intreachiag. Gen. Butler thought It un-
necessary. The consequence was that on the
foggy morning of the second day aftr, the
rebels swooped down upon the Eighteenth corps
at the right and took our troops at such dlsad-
vantage as to gain great success, capturing
two guns and nearly three thousand prisoners,
among whom was General Hickman, one OF the
most splendid fighters in the army. After three
hours fighting retreat was ordered by General
Butler to Bermuda Hundred, seven miles i'll the
rear, where he now is. behind his intrenchments,
closely besieged by the enemy. The Posf-a
paper which has always shown partially Tor
Gen. Butler-pub,ishes an account which, it
says, came from an authentic source" whereby
il is shown that 1T scas General Buffers non COM
pLianee scith the request Of General Gilmore to
intyench scaich made the attack of the enemy so
formidable; and that it scas General Buffers re-
peated and pereqaptovy order sehick caused GIL
more to take up the Tine Of retreat after the latter
| maintain his position, and had expressed an
earnest wish TO be allowed to do so. Accounts
from other sources, public and private, >corrobo.
rate this. There can be no doubt that General
Butler first displayed undue confidence, and after
acards Undue discouragement-the faults OF alt
| others most natural to cioitian commanders. The
consequence is that ground has been lost which
cannot be recovered without a great expenditure
of blood, several thousand men have been put
hors du combat, the enemy are again in full pos
session of the Richmond and Petersburg Rail-
road, and two corps of our army, as brave men
as ever trod, are cooped up on the banks Of the
James river, to all appearance almost helpless
and useless. In other words, the movement
from the Peninsula, which obtained such an
auspicious start, has not been ftly sustained by
General Butler, and has turned out ycritable
miscarriage.
This failure completes the record Not one
solitary ciulian, from the beginning Of the sear
till nov, has shoaon himself competent for high
command. The folly Of trusting military empiri-
cisln has been written out in letters Of blood.
with illustration after illustration, during this
war. SO that now no observing man III the eoun-
try can possibly gainsay it. The truth ought to
| have been plain enough at the outset. that mill.
tary science demands as systematic and pro-
tIacted study as that of law or medicine; aud
that it is just as absurd TO improvise general
from lawyer Or merchant as to improvise a
Judge from schooimaster or physician from a
mechanic. The want of professional training is
| just as sure to make military charIatans as to
| make legal or medical chalIatans. It is aston.
ishiag hoso sIoic our government and people hare
been to recognize SO simple q frutb
| Probably the gousrnn,sat has not felt at liberty
to gsoern itssJ By purely military considerations
i-has telt that, to aroid III feeling and diseosd,
some heed mast be paid to political tarorttes, and
| to tho fayorites Of our adoated citizens. This,
perhaps. was needful in the early part of the
| war. But the time for it has long since passed.
The great body of the loyal people, taught by
| experience, now care for nothing but military
| success, and are convinced that this success is
attMnable only through professional science.
They will, at all times hereafter, accept without
a mur,nur any military changes that the good Of
the cause may demand, as they have just ac-
cepted the supersedure of General Banks by
General Candy, and Of General sigel by Gener-
| raj Hunter. All personal or party predictions
are swallowed up in the desire that the war should
be conducted with the utmost efficiency. The
government cannot better commend itself than
by changing unfit for fit commanders, without
exception and without hesitation.
/ Il