Western Reserve chronicle. [volume] (Warren, Ohio) 1855-1921, 1864-10-05

you can read IL at your lelsnrs IN the
book
Things passed on until October, when
Senator Chandler and myself, feeling thst
the nation was disgraced by the inactl'l.
ty of the Union armies-the largest and
most magniicently equipped that the
world ever saw, larger than those OF Bo-
napsrte-while the rebel flag across the
Potomac Haunted the Presidential man
sion in the very face, went TO him and
said. "For Gods sake save this nation
from this ineffaceable disgrace. Take
yonr magnificent army-every man ID IL
is as good as Bonapart's old guard, lap
plause. better and. truer men never
marched to the field of battle. (renewed
cheersl and attack the enemy. lie SAID:
"Oh. | can't do that. They are 2ZO,OOOI
strong. So a gentleman fresh from Beau
regards headquarters told me, when he
dined with me yesterday That gentle
man was probably back to Bsauregard
the next day.
Well. affairs ran on, and there McClel-
Ian lay before the Quaker guns laugh
teri on Munson's Hill, frightening him
into silence. There he stood, in all the
majesty of paintl They really looked
like cannon, and Mcclellan never got
near enough to them to see whether they
were wood or iron. Renewed laughter.
He was again urged to cross the river
But no. Mcclellan said it would bring
on q general engagement-why, IN COOS
name. was not that just what we wantedf
-and he hadn't men enough, and the
rebel Notifications were as strong as Sc
vastopol.
So passed the fall and winter. In the
meantime the rebels made raid on the
Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, and car
ried off the rails for thirty miles, and
thirteen locomotives, no more disturbed
bv McClellan's army THAI by shepherds
tending their fiocks. Meantime, the reo-
el batteries below Washington, on the
Potomac, blocaded our Capital. At last
the Navy Department, stung by sense
of shame at being thus beseiged, got Nc
Clellan to agree to the arrangement OF
Joint expedition against the batteries
The naval force sailed at the time ap-
pointed, but when they arrived IN front
of the rebel batteries, there were no land
forces there. They thought some terri
hIe accident must have befallen McClel-
| Ian and his army, and sent back their
couriers in hot haste to know what the
matter was. Mcclellan told them that
he had concluded after all that it wasn't
safe 10 move, for he was afraid they
could not find a good place to land if
thew did move. But Mcclellan knew
that. by aIl laws of military etiquette,
the naval commanders having planned
the expedition, it was their business and
not his, to select place for landing the
troops. Well. they agreed upon another
time to make the attack, and the naval
forces sailed again, and again Mcclellan
failed to CO operate. And so the Poto-
mac remained blockaded, and our cap
! ital shut in by rebel batteries. and Eng
land and France were on the point OF
recognizing the Southern Confederacy,
because they were strong enough to
block us in our Capital .... ... ........+
| THE ARMY NoYEs-THE QUAKER GUNS.
But cannot go into the details of
these matters as / wish could. All the
fall. and into January, our army lay idle,
and every one remembers what magnIh
cent weather we were having. Spring
was approaching and still there were no
signs that the army would move, and Nc
Ciellan still said that it wouldn't do to
advance. At last Senator Chandler and
| I went to President Lincoln. and urged
the necessity of its peing pressed forward.
And he said, ''It shall novel" Then Nc
Clellan summoned a council of war OF
his leading generals, and so manipulated
and managed it, that eight out of twelve
of them expressed the opinion that it
would be dangerous and disastrous to go
over the river. But Mr.. Lincoln over
ruled the council of war, and. under his
| imp,icit mandates, Mcclellan moved
across the river TO attack the enemy
He moved, growing all the way. He ap-
/ proaced, with fear and trembling, those
/ forti6cations stronger than SevaStapol.
/ And there he found nothing but painted
! wooden guns, and Notifications so slender
i that they never could have borne the
weight of siege guns, and they never did.
j They were built for scarecrows. and they
were enough to frighten away the young
Napoleon. Laughter. The Committee
Il on The conduct of the war discovered
ltbis humbug oven before Mcclellan did
For while the army was evan then
| marching upon Manassas, a Massacnu
setts man, endorsed as worthy OF belle
by the Massachusetts, Congressman. came
, before that committee and told then
that the guns were all wooden, ana tina
there wasn't a rebel soldier at Manassas
and hadn't been for two weeks. W.
took him before the Cabinet, and the!
|, couid'nt believe him. But soon Their
. came another Witness man known t
|, YOU and to fame-Bayard Taylor-an'
: he declared that the guns were onl!
, Quaker guns, and there couldn't hay
been. So our army marched out, hk
: the King of France, with forty thousan'
men. and in big storm they marche'
, back again. Laughter I'd r.-
Now Mcclellan wanted to try the Re
i ninsular route to Richmond. But Nj
!, lincoln saw that there was an importan
/ Irebel army lying near Washington whicI
/ must be watched He said to Mcclellan
.In nv Judgment, the true line OF ad
!, vance is to attack the rebel army, mean
!. time interposing your army between tn
d rebels and Washington. But l am not
d military man, and you are, and If you
a council of war is unanimous on this sui
r. lject, you may take your own route
a Richmond, if you will leave an arm
!. corps to defend Washington" mel
. ton this because an attempt has bee
4. made to deceive the. people about tn
n NIL AtuSOAh
= Ian permission to 60 on condition OF uni
= ed Recommendation of his council OF wa
J. But Mcclellan paid no attention to ii
,e condition. He never called council
d war on this subject. believe that ha
I he done so, four of the commanders
=. corps could have voted that the rou
Ts which Lincoln first suggested, and Grai
I so gloriously carried out [applause W
1t the one. .-E s..--. -.r
81 TIE PRNINsULAR cANPAIoN--sIRGE OF Yos
TOWN.
i. In spite of this condition, McCIeils
q took his army and sailed away TO Yor
a town. How many men did he tai
as thereY We have indubitable testimol
"a that he took at least l20, 900 on the sta
ne How many rebels were there to encount
). NJ himi We have the testimony of u
ne Boughton, as truthful q man as ever live
n thAn Senator from that mart of Virgin