The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1864-02-13

Barnard, Chief of Engineers, reported thai
1t would be - impossible for the army ia
prevent the erection by the enemy of bat
te-ies ut " High Point and thence down te
Chopawaspsie.'s4 As the navy t.ok no
steps to prevent tine erection of batterie.
on the Virginia shore, nothing was left but
70 Man9uvre SO as to compel the enemy
to evacuate tss rs~ I'--.- z-r-
THE ADVANCE TO MANASSAS. ass. aa
Alter detailing the measures taken by
him to secure the reconstruction of the
baltimore and Ohio railroad, Gen McClel.
Ian begins the history Of the PeHinsular
campaign. On the Sth Of March the Pres.
ident renewed his objections to the Cnes-
aPeake movement, but after full CONVEX
sation again Withdrew them, and the plan
of Gen. Mcclellan being LAID bv him the
| same day before council Of division gen.
erals, they were by the majority approx ed
| Still the complete secresy necessary to
their success ha.l now, by the course of the
Executive, been sacrificed: and on the
samo 3th Of March the President issued
two new orders, still without consulting
Gen. Mcclellan. by which the situation
was greatly modified one Of these con
| stitu'ed the army into army corps; the
! other limited the army OF operation to
| fifty thousand men in the event of certain
contingencies made the safety OF Wash
| ingtoa paramount 10 all other cousidera-
| tions. fixed date FOR the commea cement
ef operations, ana ordered a combined
! land and naval assault on the Potomac
batteries, which It vas Gen. Mcclellan.
intention to turn Ly his strategic move
neut
Gen Mcclellan was thus at the outset
made r-sporsb!e for a great movement,
al! the essential points OF whlch he vas
! forbidden TO control, and the President
! eiIberatelv took upon himself the moral
responsibility Of all the disasters Which
were to follow.
! The appearance Of The Merrmac nlodi-
fed the peninsular campaign in the re-
spect that Il I, ADJ the York and not the
James river the line OF the armys COM
munications with Fortress Monroe but
the evacuation OF Manassas by the enemy,
which followed the publicity give: 10 Gen.
McC!eIlans plans proved the accuracy Of
his strategic calculations, ard prepared
the way for the full success oi his p!hn Of
operators.
With the hope Of harrazsing their rear,
and the certainty OF employing the troops
usefully In the interval before their en-
barkation for the Peninsula, Gen McCi.l-
Ian ordered an advance upon Manassas as
soon As lie learned that the enemy were
moving This advance began on the 9Th
of March
At ths: tinse the force Of the enemy q,
r-Rorted by the chief Of the secret service
CORPS, IVES as follows:
At Manassas and vicinity ... s0,000
At lower Occoquen and vicinity. lS,0OJ
Leekburr. ....--.-.--..... 4.3pJ
II5.O0J
With about 800 field guns aud 81 Siege
guns.
: striking account i. given by General
Mcclellan Of ihe stycrg.4 ., the gonfeG-
crate f.ld-wor =, M-u3s-as AID Il. the
vicinity strength. which " civilians can
not-weli appreciate. but Of the importance
Of which the history Of war gives every
com petent military man fall sense.
While at F.,irt,y Court House, three
days sitter the advance had begun. Gen.
Mcclellan was informed Ly : tele gram
from one of bis staff that au order had
been puolisi.el! in the new wspapers 81 that
dav, signed ~ the PRESIDE :, and relieving
Lim (Gen Ncrt,Na.l of tho command iu-
chief Of th- army Il the United States.
By this o'rirr she plans Be-: CaItT,ti gn.
/ bsgvn. and intended IL h- executed IN
J conformity > with a Geaer., nen- Of oper-
atIOas. were Ell: Heatiy iat,fieTed wltn II
their very inception
Gen. Mcclellan, thonsh usintorn1rI of
this most important step until It was
taken. zt cuce wrote 10 the President, re-
! iteratlns what he had said before, that
no feeling OF seit-interest or ambition
should ever prevent him from devot!ng
hirlsei! ts the service.
On March 18Th a council Of generals
/ commanding army corps decided IN favor
/ Of the Peninsrlar campaign. The Prs.l-
/ dent renewing his sntrea,ies that WASH
! ington might be kept perfectly safe, gave
his assent TO this morsment and General
J Mcclellan details at length the history of
/ the steps by which it was finally carried
( out.
/ THE aoyENEST 10 The PENINSULA.
/ Just before the expedition moved the
/ President met Gen. Mcclellan, and in
! formed him that he had been strongly
pressed to seperate BIenker 5 division from
his army and give il to Gen. Fremont, but
i that he was opposed to doing so, and would
not do so \ few DAYS afterwacd Bienk-
ers division was ordered Ia Join General
! Fremont, and Gen. Mcclellan was thus
deprived OF 10000 Of the ,roors upon
which he had counted. The President,
/ however, assured him that no political
pressure should again induce him 10 de>
! priye the Army Of the Potomac Of any
more of its force
Ga the lst of April Gen Mcclellan, then
on his way 10 Fortress Monroe, estimated
the troops left to hold Washington, Mans
assas, and the Lower Potomac, with the
Shenandoah Valley, at 1886 men, with
lOD light guns larger force than had held
the same region during the event.ul and
perilous months of July, August AVID Sep
! tember. lS6l Gen Barry, Chief Of Artil-
/ lerv. states that at Washington there were
! lett 81 field pieces, with men, horses aad
! equipments.
The testimony of Gen Hitchcock, who
/ reportea to the PRESIDENT on the I'd of
| April that the force left for the defence of
! Washington was Inadequate, is .adduced to
/ show, in his own wor Is, that it was clear
! that the enemy had no intention Of re-
occupying Manassas Junction, and that,
! therefore, no large force would be
required to hold that position.
The President, however, On the !th Of
Arril teiegraphed to Gen. Mcclellan at
/ Fortress Monroe his fears for the capital.
| based on the alarming fact that the a" line
/ from Richmond to Manassas Junction was
entirely open.
The Navy Department is shown 10 lave
| declared that the Merrlmac was Eelitrai
led. and that the naval forces could CO.
operase efficiently and break through be-
! tween Torktow: and Glouchester Point.
Gen Mcclellan also shows that March
! l6 1862. he gave orders Cor the igtreneh
ment of Chester Gap and of the point 1t
which the Manassas Gap railroad crosses
| the Shenandoah This was for the pur-
pose of preventing precisely such movs-
msnt as was made in May following by
Gen Jackson The change made by the
President in the command OF the army