Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1864-04-22
GEN. NcoLELLAgs CAaPAIGY.
The Man Taat sees 09er other Nen,s Il

It matters nothing that this was not clear at the
time 1t is for this that general is necd3I This
is the quality that ftsa man to command The pow
er TO see beforehand what everybody can see when
the occasion IS past. OF this presciencoof geni-
US Of this light that reveals in darkness the GER
talntes OF the coming time, thcre was never geen
upon Mcclellan the ialntest ray the mos obscure
and far-fiickering elimmer
1t may be said that he took safe cou7g. But
in war perpetual caution Is not safe. be had
even afforded in his campaigning anycottrary ex-
amples Of oodneSs and eelerity where e.hers adj
yIsod delay, the pea might be ADMITTED But
there ara none such. This single fact vii shat
ter all claim TO put him in tie highest ralS of mil
itary captains. 1t is common maxim faat c0un-
clls of are apt to lie timid The reas0n is that
each ofieer sees the difficulties chat lie tsore him,
and does not feel enough the strength Of the
whole army to which he belongs Gens Richard
heavy loss OF our arms-narrates thatsafter the
battle at Palo Altoa council of war wasealled to
determine whether TO advance OF not. o. the thir-
teen officers present only three were III favor Of
a forward movement. But General lor went
on. Much ike that is the story Of nebly every
great martial triumph. Gen. Mcclellan called
few councils, but he was himself a pet,onal EN-
bodimeHt Of council of war.
The EyAcUATIoH AND FiGHF AT WILLilMsBURG.
The siege wenton for nearlya a month"; Our bat
teres would have been ready 10 open oh the 9th Of
May, but on themorning of the 5th The enemy S
works were found to be abandoned Pursuit was
soon commenced IN the direction ofIRiehmond,
and on the following day occurred tke battle Of
Williamsburg. twas a stand made Ey the enc
my rear guard rapidly reinforced, ha he found
the position could bo held with damfge to US
The advantage OF the FIGHT was on tI4 whole de-
cidedly with him. And it is now Audited ON all
hands that the battle was badly fought by US
There was no order, and no mind togoyen 1t
was not Gen. Mcclellan fault for not being there.
lie rad stayed at Rushton, 9 miles a the rear,
to superintcnd the sending of troopshp the York
river towards West Point. The genetals who had
gone TO the front did not know who was in COM
mand, and managed each one as he saw fit Gen.
Hooker fought with his accustomed bravery, and
lost heavily. being unsupported forl rlaours, until
kearney forced his way from the rfar by roads
full of standing troops, to his aid, On the other
side Gen. Hancock got behind the rtbel line and
held his ground there The next fav the enc
my was gone. Andour troops foiloBed slowly af-
ter toward the Chickahominy
GEN. NJ CLEIIlAN NOT A GREAT SMOKER OF pow
DER.
The general absence from the fielE at Williams
burg, Ike his caution at York town. would be
nothing against him as a military man if it stood
alone, but he appears to have been usually, if not
uniformly, at some distance from tie scene of ac-
tual encounter. We are well award hat an officer
in command of great army mus usually hold
himself little withdrawn from the tdge of conflict
in order that he may receive reports from every
part, and overlook all that goes bn. But this
scarcely accounts for what seems to be the fact that
through all the Peninsular campaigk Gen. McClel-
Ian was never on a battlefield in the of fighting,
unless, and it is doubtful exception, at Malvern
Hill
Gen Sumner, who saw nu1ber of sharp
brushes, testifes distinctly that f5en Mcclellan
was never once with him ia any fight. The testi-
cal But these we're corps commanders. The
general was not personally az wt conclude from
afl tho evidence We can gather. tpeetator Of the
fighting at Fair Oass, or az Gains Mills. or