The Vermont transcript. [volume] (St. Albans, Vt.) 1864-1870, 1864-07-22

faction of seeing it produce the de-
SIRED result. True to Scripture, "out
OF his mouth was he condemned" A
silver bullet appeared, which. upon
examination, was unscrewed. and was
found to contain an important dis
patch for Burgoyne. He was tried
condemned and executed, and the bul-
let is still preserved in the family.
--,--, ---
LEE AS A GENrRAL-A correspondent
of the New York Times supplies that
journal with an elaborate criticism on
the career of General Lee, taking a
much more moderate view of his mill
tary ability than is common at the
North. We extract the following
pointed paragraphs;
Gen. Lee Is now advancing in his
fifty-hfth year. He was graduated at
the Military Academy in 1929, in his
twenty-fourth year. and although sec
ond on the roll OF merit in his class, he
made no mark in it. nor did he leave
any tradition Of ability behind him.
like Mason, who was graduated at the
head of the class, and Buckingham,
who was lower down. The truth is,
as cadet, Gen. Lee performed al his
duties properly, patiently and labor
iously for which he WAS Justly re-
warded, and earned the reputation Of
a safe, reliable man, who would exc
cute TO the best Of his ability the work
assigned him. The subsequent career
of Gen. Lee, up to the inception of the
rebellion, when scrutinized, viii be
found to be IN keeping with his early
promise. As an officer of engineers he
has left nothing that can be pointed to
as denoting other than mere ordinary
ability. No one ever thought Of quot
ing him as ali authority in his corps,
as they would Tottcn, Thayer, Della
field, Barnard and others. ii has been
remarked of him. by those who served
with him, that he was seldom if ever
known to put forth an independent
opinion ON professional subject under
discussion, that his professional read
ing was very limited, and his resort to
professional works seemed only for the
occasion.
We now come to Gen. Lees new ca
recr, upon which his present claims to
the characteristics Of military genius
rest His chief work here was the
least complex of military problems r.
that Of defending territory exceed
ingly difficult to penetrate, Offering a
number Of strong defensiblc positions,
assailable only at the risk Of great loss
to the assailant in front, and subjecting
HIM to the greater risks of flank
movement in his attempts to turn
them. Having had years OF time to
prepare these defensive points, with a
minute knowledge of every inch Of
ground, having communications to the
rear ample and unobstructed, and a
population deadly hostile to the invad-
ing force a General must, indeed, have
been below mediocrity who would not
have conducted his defensive cam
paigns as respectfully as General Lee
has done He has been satisfied with
an almost passive resistance, and when
he has assumed the offensive it has al
ways been with an eager look to the
rear At the second battle Of Bull
Run, no able General would have let
go SO easily his grasp on the democrat
lied troops of Pope Subsequently at
Antietam, with m exhausted and nj
most demoralized army to contend with,
no able General, with the advantages
that Lee had already secured, would
have failed to have struck home, with
such q momentous stake within his
reach.
In the perilous condition of Burn
side at Fredericksburg, it required but
ordinary military skill to have driven
his army into the Rappahannock
Hooker and Sedgwick owed to this
want of a true military appreciation of
the moment in Lee than to the fighting
qualities of their troops. Finally, at
Gettysburg, after handsome first sue
cess, with his troops concentrated and
well in hand, would an able General
have been satisfied to get himself out
of the scrape and withdraw when Lee
did, with such prospects IA second time
before him? For his present position
and reputation, Gen. Lee is indebted,
in no small degree, to his family con-
nections and to that seryiceable talent
which is the tower of strength of men
of mediocrity, department. Amiable,
thoroughly moral, and in his social re-
lations of strict integrity, he always
challenges respect; but with these he
is lacking in those qualities of com
mander which beget the enthusiasm
and implicit reliance of the soldier un-
der all circumstances. There is more
confidence felt i'll his prudence than in
his boldness; of audacity he has shown
none.
Bay~ Who is old? A wise man will
never rust out. As long rs he can
move and breathe, he viii do some