Richmond Whig. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1862-1865, 1864-03-10
The Raid Again.

The more We reflect on the Yankee fasco the more
ridiculous does toe whole scheme for the capture Of
R,5nmond appear. The serious part of the work was
committed By fitzpatrick TO an inexperienced boy who
had not the TO conceal the infamous orders under
which they came, and Who seems to have had no in
ellgent idea Of Whit he had to per orm. Ia consider
ing the Ightsou3 fate Of DAhlgren, know not which
the admire, his ignorance his gasconade lie
advanced With great swelling words of vanity as to bis
purpose to do or die and though he undoubtedly
died," it was not in attempting TO "dO" but in the
Of flight from imprOvised force of fu lOughedso
diers and gray haired old gentlemen. He made but
effort get 70 Richmond, aud vas driven OF by
small corps of clerks who had never been under fire.
But his amazing ignorance of the geography of the
country the most striking fact the face of his pro-
grAmme. It is not too to say that this programme
was the most hcpeessly impraccable thing that was
seriously undertaken BY reasonable men, Dahgren
was, perhaps, not reasonable Bat the instruc-
tons given to him suppose to have beea writ
ten out At headquarters after small consideration
Of the difficulties that DO encountered II Meade
approved tbem as We are compelled to suppose ne did,
then never did great commander buldsr 80 stupidity
about the carte d pays beforS He trea ed GU, noble
James as goose Geek, insgniaoin. mil race TO be
leaPed a. single bouad, Iorded anywhere without
Wetting the saddle cloths of the troopers Down came
DAhlgren on the James without pOntoOns thinking to
gel across just where he might strike it, But unlike
the young Lochinvar OF whom the poet records that
"He swan The Esk River where ford there was none"
The young Uric sooner discovered that there were
no practicable fOrds between Richmond and Lynchburg,
than he hurg the unhappy "cOntrabAnd" who had de-
eeiVed him with hopes Of a crossing, and gave up the
approach down the right bank altogether. l. was a
most ungrateiu well cruel business the hanging
Of Ar. Weens' negro. For beyond all question. had
the darksy bsen able TO make the James River shallow
enough for Dahgrens purposes or 10 have lerried all
ms followers over 10 the PoWhatan shore, not a man
oil them would have escaped. With the moss accom-
Pshed guide in al the country, they could not have
reached Manchester before an alarm had raised the
whole OF PoWhatan and Chesterfield in their rear And
when they should have within striking distance of
Belle Isle, it would have been to encounter strong
guard upon ground declVouI broken and rocky wholly
impossible for cavalry and exposed to The fire of bat
IeFies Of which the leader knew nothing wha.eyeE-
He' indeed, was il for the command if not for The
s1 1901 and Noud-oe assassin at its head that never
PHsed the river TO the right bank Tn, military erili
'f EuroPe who regard the operations of this war with
Hose a'tsntion, and Witi far better acquaintance wi
he physical features OF the country lhan seems 10 be-
ong 70 Meade will read the orders that were found M
u the P'rsOn Of DAhlgrsn with a contempt for t,e